I Have Read That Ulthera Hurts but What About Preventive Measures?

In October 2012, Ulthera announced a new protocol that is vastly more comfortable than the previous protocol.  Previously, ultherapy was extremely difficult to get through without pain management.  Now, most patients do not need pain medications.  However, for those that do, a combination of anti-anxiety medication and ibuprofen may be all that is needed.

Numbing cream does not penetrate to the dermal layer and connective tissues that are affected by Ultherapy so it's not used.  Pain killers and pills to reduce anxiety such as Ativan or Valium, help make the Ultheapy a much more comfortable procedure. Our practice in NYC is accredited as an office based surgical facility.  We ask our patients to consider thispain reduction regimen, and then if they agree, they schedule the treatment having had arranged someone to go home with them as they are not permitted to leave alone.

Most patients tolerate the treatment well, but there are patients who know themselves so well and they tell us they have a very low pain threshold and would not be able to tolerate the treatment despite medication by mouth. In that event, we have a board-certified anesthesiologist that can perform sedation in our accredited office-based surgical facility. This is extremely rare for Ultherapy.

The discomfort that patients experience with Ultherapy is variable but the pulses of micro-focused ultrasound are very brief. Some discomfort is unavoidable though because Ultherapy stimulates collagen remodeling through heat, and if the peak temperature is not high enough then there won't be much of a response. Most of our patients do well without numbing medication or drugs but we are happy to offer it if desired.

We have performed Ultherapy since 2011 in hundreds of patients with high satisfaction rates.I have had the procedure myself and asked my physician assistant to stop twice because of discomfort around the jaw. I pretreat my patients with ibuprofen an hour before and another does of 800 mg immediately before in liquid form and have never had a problem with my patients. I also recommend the use of Swell-X bioflavonoids for 10 days after the procedure.There is no need to write for prescription pain meds after the procedure. Read the Ultherapy book on the link below.

Ultherapy is the only technology that can treat the facial musculature from the surface, and yes, some discomfort can be experienced during the treatment.  Areas close to, or over the bone will be more uncomfortable.  I offer my patients prescription pain and anti-anxiety medication.  A topical numbing cream can also be applied.  Effectiveness varies upon the individual.  However, we have treated hundreds of patients in my office, and while some have found the procedure uncomfortable, I have never had a patient unable to complete the treatment.