Sponsored by MyEllevate
For patients desiring minimally invasive neck and jawline rejuvenation with long-lasting results, MyEllevate (Newport Beach, Calif.) may prove very appealing. The procedure was created by Beverly Hills, Calif.- based plastic surgeon Gregory Mueller, MD. With a quick learning curve and minimal capital outlay, MyEllevate provides safe, predictable rejuvenation for patients who previously had no efficacious options.
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Sean Paul, MD |
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Barry DiBernardo, MD |
 Jason Pozner, MD Plastic Surgeon Boca Raton, FL |
“We’ve had many patients walk away because they didn’t want a traditional surgical facelift or non-invasive treatments,” said Sean Paul, MD, an oculofacial plastic surgeon in Austin, Texas. “They are not ready for, or don’t need, a full surgery, and they don’t want repeated treatments like toxins or injectables.”
“What I love about MyEllevate is that in a minimally invasive office-based procedure under local anesthesia, I can get aesthetic improvement of the neck approaching a surgical facelift or neck lift,” said Barry DiBernardo, MD, a plastic surgeon in Montclair, N.J.
Along with a proprietary lattice of support sutures, MyEllevate incorporates energy-based treatment (and for Dr. Paul, sometimes radiofrequency microneedling) for skin tightening. After marking the neck and jawline, the surgeon enters through small puncture sites, loosens underlying tissues and cuts platysmal bands using the MyEllevate suture.
However, according to Dr. Paul, MyEllevate is very unlike thread lifting because results last five to ten years.
“If patients have loose skin we use either radiofrequency or laser to tighten the skin,” Dr. DiBernardo began. “If they have fat, we use a small liposuction cannula to remove that. Then we thread the MyEllevate suture around the neck behind the ear on both sides using the ICLED Surgical Suture System by Implicit Care (Newport Beach, Calif.) and tie it to get a good neck contour.”
Plastic surgeon Jason Pozner, MD (Boca Raton, Fla.), advises surgeons to perform wide undermining with the cannula, and to tie sutures to slight overcorrection. “The treatment area loosens post-procedurally,” he explained, “and liposuction fluid contributes to swelling. If it doesn’t look strange on the table, it is too loose.” For additional patient comfort, he provides an MKO Melt (midazolam, ketamine, ondansetron) by ImprimisRx (San Diego, Calif.) pre-procedure, followed by on-demand nitrous oxide in the operating room.
While a full facelift may require general anesthesia and significant downtime, MyEllevate takes one hour, and patients can return to their routine in two to three days (avoiding heavy lifting for at least ten days). “And patients have no scars around the ears,” Dr. Paul noted.
Choosing appropriate patients and setting expectations are critical, Dr. Paul added. In his experience, patients in their 60s and older probably need facelifts, but he has successfully performed MyEllevate on patients up to their early 60s.
Dr. DiBernardo said that the new MyEllevate Plus procedure, which incorporates a small skin excision behind the ear, allows him to treat patients of almost any age.
Patient response to MyEllevate has been unprecedented, Dr. DiBernardo reported. Whereas his webinars usually draw 20 to 30 attendees, a MyEllevate webinar he hosted drew more than 250. “We have new procedures and devices all the time. But this is one of the major advances we’ve seen in minimally invasive aesthetic procedures this decade.”
