The Aesthetic Guide

7 The Aesthetic Guide | November/December 2020 | www.theaestheticguide.com Regarding the financial aspects of the procedure, the average cost for a single treatment is $1000; however, if purchased as a whole package (four treatments), the price of a single treatment is discounted at $750. The overall expenses per treatment were calculated to range between 20% and 25% of the procedure price. Taking all of this into consideration, the device was thus paid off within four months of purchase. Additional treatments then generated a significant net profit allowing for further development of the practice to stand up to its innovative reputation. Discussion The study analyzed the role of the Emsculpt device in two practices that focused on different types of patients and its commercial impact on the practices. While in the facial plastic surgery practice the HIFEM procedure by Emsculpt is more of a complementary procedure extending the practice’s portfolio for their clients, in the medical spa, body contouring by HIFEM is one of the major tools used to achieve non-invasive aesthetic improve- ments in their clients. The number of treated patients demonstrates the dif- ference in the role of the device in each practice. In the plastic surgery clinic, a total of 166 patients were treated during the analyzed 18 months, while in the medical spa, 285 patients were treated. The number of treatments in both prac- tices kept increasing during the first year after the purchase. This trend could be attributed to the fact that the device itself was first introduced only in April 2018. The overall awareness about the pro- cedure was thus growing as the device was gaining more and more interest over time. Another aspect could be that the practices were first looking for the best implementation of the device among their existing portfolios. Due to its unique effect on muscles, the procedure quickly found its unique place in the practice as it could be used as a standalone procedure and can also be used in combination with fat reduction devices such as cryolipolysis or radiofrequency. In the presented data, an exciting trend of high interest among the male patients toward the HIFEM procedure can be seen, who make up to 23% of patients in the plastic surgery clinic and up to 15% in the medical spa practice. We believe the reason for this is that for male patients, the muscle strengthening and toning effect delivered by the HIFEM procedure is much more attractive than skin rejuve- nation or fat removal. In both practices, a large group of male patients was inter- ested in abdominal application followed by application to arm muscles (biceps brachii and triceps brachii). In both clinics, the extension of the system by small appli- cators led to an increase in the number of performed treatments. The procedures performed by these applicators made up 22.8% and 20.3% of all performed procedures in the medical spa and plastic surgery clinic, respectively. The treatments are usually perceived as comfortable with a high satisfaction rate, which further increases the popularity of the procedure among patients, who can see significant improvement and the phy- sicians whose reputation is growing. High popularity then makes the procedure also commercially interesting for the practices. Even if the system is used as a comple- mentary tool within the portfolio, the expenses related to the device purchase may be recovered within nine months. If used most widely, the initial expenses may be paid off as fast as four months, depending on the practice’s strategy. Conclusion This retrospective patient chart review of HIFEM procedure inafacial plastic surgery clinic andamedical spa showed a safety profile of the procedure as no adverse events or complications were observed. The results showed high efficacy of the treatments, along with high patient satisfac- tion. The popularity of Generalthe procedure is growing over time among both men and women, which we believe significantly contributes to the business growth of the practices. Thus, we consider body con- touring with the Emsculpt device to be safe and highly effective for patients as well as commercially attractive for practices. Before and after treatment with Emsculpt Photos courtesy of David E. Kent, MD