Health Talk: Thermage Provides Anti-Aging Treatment

By Dr. Lee Klelman and Victoria Davis-Lawson

Thermage – you may have seen and heard about it on “Oprah” or read about it in a magazine. It has been touted the next best thing in the fight against aging since Botox hit the scene many years ago.

We now have a new weapon in our arsenal that has proven beneficial to many in the battle to ward off extrinsic signs of aging. But what is Thermage exactly?

Thermage is a non-surgical, non-invasive, cosmetic procedure that involves no recovery time. It is FDA-approved for skin tightening, facial and body contouring, and most recently, cellulite treatment. For facial skin tightening, ideal candidates are people with mild to moderate skin laxity, crinkly, wrinkly skin, or those who simply need a bit of facial rejuvenation or refresher.

For the body, ideal candidates are those who are at or near their ideal body weight who have stubborn fat pockets and/or dimply skin typically resistant to exercise.

The Thermage procedure is performed in a physician’s office with no anesthetic needed. A hand-held device that emits radiofrequency energy is placed on the surface of the skin. This energy delivers a controlled heat deep into the underlying collagen structures. The heat causes the collagen to contract and thicken, thereby reducing wrinkling and skin laxity and promoting a denser, firmer, toned skin.

Some immediate results are noted afterward, but more appreciable results are gradually noted over the next few months as the collagen starts to remodel. You’ll be asked to return to the office for comparison pictures at two, four and six month intervals to document your progress.

One of the pluses to this non-surgical procedure is that it can be kept your little secret. You will leave the office without anyone ever knowing you had something done and able to return to your normal activities.

Thermage, though not a “fix-all,” has proved promising for many, especially those who do not want to go under the knife, those who are not surgical candidates, or those who do not want the recovery involved with surgery. Thermage doesn’t halt aging altogether, but simply put, it resets our clocks to where we were in our aging process a few years prior, and in a sense, buys us a longer “youthful looking” time.

Regarding how long the procedure lasts, much of that depends on factors such as lifestyle, sun exposure, genetics, and one’s home skin care regimen.

If you’d like to see if Thermage is right for you, call to schedule a confidential consultation. For further information about Thermage, visit www.Thermage.com.

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Dr. Lee Kleiman is a board-certified ear, nose and throat specialist and a facial plastic surgeon with Baltimore Washington Medical Center. Victoria Davis-Lawson is a registered nurse and skin care specialist. To reach Dr. Kleiman or Ms. Davis-Lawson, please call 410-544-9988.

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