Would you Allow a RN, LPN, or Esthetician Perform Thermage if the Physician is in the Office?

Thermage can be very safely performed by trained RNs or estheticians.  However, candidate selection is critical with Thermage treatments.  I would be more concerned about the experience level of the person evaluating you for treatment - Thermage effects are generally subtle at best in the majority of patients.  There are many happy Thermage patients, but those are typically the small subset of people for whom Thermage can produce a satisfactory result.  Be wary of any practitioner who promises dramatic change with Thermage treatment, and make sure your provider is well-experienced in Thermage candidate selection.  Most patients we see are not good candidates for Thermage only because their expectations way exceed what Thermage treatments can typically produce.  

You may want to review your individual state regulations on who can administer Thermage. However, I think that the bigger issue (as Dr. Rand eloquently stated) concerns the efficacy or lack thereof with Thermage.  The results have been underwhelming in many patients and there may be better ways to spend your money.

Yes- in my office I have my nurses and Aestheticians performing Thermage.  The procedure is safe and I have been involved in the training aof everyone in my office.  I am a Plastic Surgeon and I use Thermage in my office because patients are quite satisfied with results.  I can offer my patients facial surgery as well which, frankly, is more lucrative for me...but there are clearly cases where surgery is just too extreme for the patient's issues.  In these cases Thermage has provided an improvement that has satisfied my patients.  Education is important and it's important to understand that the results of Thermage will not be equivalent to surgery.  Good Luck!  Scott Newman, MD FACS

You should carefully review your expectations before stepping into having Thermage regardless of who is doing it.  At its best, in my opinion, the results are very minimal to nearly non-existent and you can confirm this by reading the reviews of real patients.  If you have any real laxity of the skin, the difference may not be worth doing it.