Thank you for your question!
You are asking a question that is a fairly common question in the current world of non-invasive
skin tightening technologies and you’re asking about Radiesse and the integrity of
the Radiesse currently being in your nasolabial fold and whether it’s safe to have Ultherapy
at the same time and whether or not it will potentially melt the Radiesse.
Well, I can certainly give you a little bit of information based on how we discuss non-surgical
therapies like Ultherapy in our practice.
Although we don’t offer Ultherapy specifically, we have technology that is comparable.
A little bit of background, I’m a Board-certified cosmetic surgeon and Fellowship-trained oculofacial
plastic and reconstructive surgeon.
I’ve been in practice in Manhattan and Long Island for over 20 years and I’ve been using
various thermal devices including lasers since the mid-90s, with the original CO2 laser to
help people tighten their skin.
So in the modern world, we have a variety of technology that offer basically dermal
tightening as well as non-surgical fat reduction using various methods of heat induction, whether
it’s radiofrequency, ultrasound type of technology as well as laser technology.
So the principle of this concept is to induce a certain level of heat for a certain amount
of time in order to induce tightening of the skin.
And by tightening the dermis up to a point, you can actually tighten areas such as the
jawline, jowls etc.
We use a technology called the Nd:YAG laser which has this unique method of inducing temperature
elevations in the skin in a way that is slow and progressive so we are able to avoid some
of the pain issues that people have with a lot of the more common and popular technologies.
So, that being said, we have the experience.
As far as the effect on the Radiesse, this depends also on where the thermal energy device
is being applied.
In general, we don’t actually treat the nasolabial fold directly.
So, the temperature change in the skin can be probably avoided in terms of having any
effect on the Radiesse material.
Understanding that Radiesse is a suspension of a material called calcium hydroxyapatite
in a gel suspension.
There is probably a theoretical potential because of the upregulation of the biologic
increase of activity as a response to this controlled induction of heat.
You could, theoretically, accelerate the gel breakdown but the hydroxyapatite itself will
not breakdown in that kind of heat.
This is a material that’s like bone so it’s very resistant to that type of temperature
increase.
So in terms of making a decision, I think that you really have to discuss with your
doctor what the desired outcome would be with this thermal energy device or any thermal
energy device.
When we look at our patients and we want to help them, whether it’s dermal tightening
or spot fat reduction, we have different protocols and different ways to apply the laser device
without doing anything to the skin superficially but inducing the heat to the deeper layers
of the skin as well as the tissue underneath the skin in a way to tighten the skin, we
are really able to customize.
So if we put fillers in the lip area, the nasolabial fold, even the chin, it’s not
a problem because what’s really nice about using a laser device is being able to point
the device very precisely and to control exactly where the heat is being applied.
That’s a side point but essentially, the point of that is if you can strategically
limit where the heat is being placed and preserve the integrity where the fillers are placed,
that’s ultimately the goal.
So talk to your doctor about this and learn about what the impact will be and also learn
about what the success of the treatment can be because I think a lot of people are learning
about thermal energy devices but very often, they are expecting more than the thermal energy
devices can deliver so a consultation is critical to get a realistic opinion about what your
outcome will be.
So I hope that was helpful, I wish you the best of luck and thank you for your question!