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"You get what you pay for"... without discomfort you won't achieve non-surgical lifting. Thermage hurts but ultherapy hurts more. Thermage can help tighten, but the results of Ultherapy are greater. Patient satisfaction is greater, in fact, on this website, patients rate their satisfaction as approximately 89% with Ultherapy and 45% with Thermage. Many physicians who have done both are finding Ulthera to be more effective and it has FDA clearance for lifting! The pain is related to the deep penetration (4.5mm) of the Ultherapy and it tends to be the worst immediately in front of the ear, near the cheekbone and forehead near the area above the middle of the eyebrow. I have needed to have my anesthesiologist even sedate one patient as she and I know how low a pain threshold she has. A patient of mine, a dermatologist, said she couldn't believe people complain about the procudure as it didn't hurt her too much. She obviously has a high pain threshold. Others are managed well with only "Motrin" while most need a prescribed pain killer, an anti-anxiety oral medication and a non-steroidal antiinflammatory agent, Ketorolac. The pain goes away quickly and there is no downtime with this procedure.
I have been performing Ulthera treatments for one year and have treated over 100 patients. While it is generally well-tolerated, I have found the forehead to be the most sensitive area in many patients. I perform the treatment with nerve blocks and optional pain medicine in all patients, which reduces discomfort greatly. The undereye area is generally not particularly sensitive with this treatment.
Ultherapy discomfort in the forehead depends on the amount of muscle tissue available in the area. The more dense the muscle, the less painful. I premedicate with ibuprofen an hour before and immediately before the procedure and also recommend ibuprofen for 24 hours to follow. Very anxious patients are prescribed valium (5 or 10 mg) as a single dose an hour before the procedure and have to be driven in and driven home. Read the Ultherapy book provided on the link below under ebooks.
Ultherapy maximal depth of energy penetration is 4.5 mm where ultrasound energy is focused. It is not likely that the energy will go deeper as the device is high frequency and the energy will be attenuated and absorbed quickly at those depths. Read the Ultherapy ebook provided on the link...
After an Ultherapy treatment, our patients report no real down time or pain. They can immediately return back to work or go about their daily activities. While most patients do not need anything special for pain management, if any discomfort is felt, an over the counter Advil...
Ultherapy overall is a well tolerated procedure. It can be done in the office and can be done with no means of chemical pain control (e.g. nerve blocks, anxiolytics, narcotics) That doesn't mean it is a walk in the park. I have personally tried Ultherapy and did one half...
