I just had my filler done under my eyes, can I have HIFU/Ultherapy on my forehead?

Dear Faithway (Singapore),Thanks for your question. Having HIFU and Ultherapy on your forehead will not affect the fillers done in your under eye area. However, you are right to be concerned if the HIFU (high intensity focused ultrasound) is directed at the fillers as the ultrasound could potentially degrade the dermal filler. In my practice, I prefer to perform Ultherapy first, prior to injecting fillers for this reason.  Although, it is common for patients to have the Ultherapy after dermal filler injections, this usually needs to be ideally done after 4 weeks. There can be still mild filler degradation but they still tend to have good results. Ultherapy and fillers can work synergistically - ultherapy works to tighten and lift the tissues whilst dermal fillers replace the volume loss.As you probably know not every HIFU machine is the same. The Ulthera machine is but one type of HIFU device, but it is also the only HIFU device approved by the US FDA for lifting and tightening skin. The US FDA is known for being stringent when it comes to safety and efficacy, and its approval of Ultherapy brings about assurances of effectiveness and safety. Here are some of the differences between generic HIFU devices and Ulthera.#1 Ultherapy is known to produce noticeable results after just one or two treatments, and follow-up visits may be limited to just once a year. Some other HIFU treatments require 3-4 treatments before there are noticeable results and may require more frequent maintenance. Hence these HIFU treatments are usually sold at a fraction of Ulthera.#2 Ulthera uses a ultrasound to scan, assess and determine the depth where the HIFU is focused to create the ideal collagen stimulation and skin tightening. I believe most other HIFUs do not have an ultrasound localisation ability like the Ulthera.#3Ulthera has to be performed by doctors who are licensed to use the machine. whereas certain HIFU treatments may be performed by non-medical staff, such as beauticians.I hope this answers your question. Have a great week ahead and all the best!Dr. Terence Goh
Plastic Surgeon, SingaporeMBBS (S'pore), MRCS (Edinburgh), MMed (S’pore)Fellow, Academy of Medicine, Singapore (Plastic Surgery)President, Singapore Association of Plastic Surgeons (SAPS)International Member, American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS)

Thanks for reaching out. Yes, it is safe to have Ultherapy treatment on the forehead and it will not affect your under eye filler.  Ultherapy uses highly focused ultrasound technology to tighten skin in only the region being treated. Best,  

Ultherapy uses focused high intensity ultrasound energy to tighten skin. It does not affect fillers in general and especially not fillers injected in adjacent non-treated areas. Forehead treatment with Ultherapy can be done without any concern to an effect of infraoribital / tear trough filler of the lower eyelid area.

Treatments to the forehead with Ulthera will not affect the filler you have put into the lower lids. 

In theory, doing a focused ultrasound treatment (HIFU ultherapy) may melt fillers in the skin.
In your case, given that the fillers are in the undereye area and you plan to do HIFU/ultherapy of the forehead then it would probably be OK to proceed

You can do Ultherapy procedure, but try to avoid the area where you did the fillers. However, be careful with the HIFU Chinese machines. We've seen an increasing number of the negative results from those machines.