Thermage? treatment guidelines optimized for better results

Hayward, Calif. — Thermage, Inc. has released new treatment guidelines for optimizing the effects of its ThermaCool™ device. Experts reviewed results with standardized treatment guidelines, which were backed up by independent research findings, the company says.

Jeffrey Dover, M.D., associate clinical professor, dermatology section of dermatologic surgery and oncology, Yale Medical School, New Haven, Conn., and Brian Zelickson, M.D., assistant professor, dermatology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, co-chaired scientific proceedings at the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery's 25th annual meeting.

Dr. Dover says the new evidence helped physicians to agree upon proven methods to optimize the efficacy and safety of the Thermage® procedure.

Plastic surgeon Jay Burns, M.D., assistant professor of plastic surgery, UT Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, adds that a standardized approach to non-invasive tissue tightening provides the majority of patients with noticeable changes, without the downtime required by surgery.

The expert panel considered pooled data reports from 5,700 Thermage® patient treatments and assessed satisfactory efficacy in 94 percent of recently treated cases. Improvements in predictability were attributed to optimized treatment guidelines. They reported that using multiple passes at moderate settings resulted in higher patient satisfaction and improved patient comfort during the procedure. Data also confirmed Thermage® treatment denatures additional collagen fibers in deep skin layers with each energy application up to at least five passes in a single treatment session, the company says.