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Not all surgeries need to be surgical. Most often, when it is nonsurgical, it is highly desired. No stitches? Little to no downtime? The benefits speak for themselves, but these nonsurgical procedures are not always the best option. Getting into the details, Haute Beauty expert Dr. Yuly Gorodisky shares specifics on the top two nonsurgical procedures and minimally invasive body contouring options in his practice.

Nonsurgical Procedure: Ylift

BENEFITS: Nonsurgical face lifting procedure that naturally rejuvenates the face by rebuilding the support for saggy skin.

HOW IT WORKS: The Ylift is based on the 3 tenants of facial rejuvenation:

1. Structural volumizing or adding volume to the structural support will then provide lifting and tighter redraping of soft tissue.
2. The leading edge is what guides the structural support to provide the lengthening necessary to increase structural volume.
3. The closed system takes the mechanics of a hydraulic system and applies them to the other 2 components to create a lift and structural support using gel fillers.

CANDIDATE: Men or women of various ages who want to enhance or replace lost structural volume and improve the sagging skin of the face. The procedure helps not only those who have bone erosion due to aging but also those who have anatomically underdeveloped bony structures. Those with true excess skin due to significant weight loss may not be optimal candidates, but combined with other modalities will still see an improvement. Those who have a heavier face may need to undergo some slimming modalities as well, to see the benefits.

DOWNTIME: There is no downtime with this treatment besides some mild swelling, possible minor bruising, and some minimal soreness. Makeup should be avoided for 1-2 days after treatment.

RESULTS: The results may last for 3 years or more depending on other factors such as the natural progression of aging and weight fluctuations. Some skin maintenance is always recommended to improve skin health and appearance.

Nonsurgical procedure: HALO laser

BENEFITS: HALO is a laser procedure that uses ablative and nonablative fractional laser technology to rejuvenate the skin with less downtime than traditional laser techniques.

HOW IT WORKS: The HALO laser is technologically advanced to deliver an even distribution of microscopic laser beams to stimulate skin rejuvenation, wrinkle improvement, skin tightening, and skin texture improvement. The treatment takes about 30 minutes and may be performed 1-2 times a year for maintenance and improved results.

CANDIDATE: Patients with wrinkles, sun damage, dull skin, acne, or other scars may benefit from a HALO treatment. The settings can be customized based on the patient’s needs and skin type.

DOWNTIME: The only downtime is some redness that occurs after treatment for about 5 days. More aggressive treatments may have more redness and microscopic scabs called MENDS that clear away in about a week.

RESULTS: The results of HALO treatment are subtle but noticeable. The skin looks visibly healthier and brighter.

 

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Minimally invasive: SurgYlift or Ellevate procedure

BENEFITS: A great adjunct to the Ylift, which addresses the facial concerns of aging and sagging, SurgYlift is a procedure that adds nonsurgical neck tightening using a device called Ellevate. The treatment is performed under local anesthesia and the skin and muscles of the neck can be tightened without making large incisions bending the ears.

HOW IT WORKS: The procedure may be performed as part of the SurgYlift or as a stand-alone procedure to address the neck only. It involves radiofrequency neck tightening by applying energy to the undersurface of the skin of the neck with or without liposuction to contour the neck. Renuvion helium plasma or FaceTite radiofrequency device is used, as well as Morpheus8. Another component of the procedure is using a suture to divide sagging muscle bands, tighten the muscles, and support the skin structure of the neck by using a lighted suture device. This device guides the suture under the skin through small skin punctures and not large incisions.

CANDIDATE: If there is some excess sagging under the chin, including excess fat or bands of loose muscle, this procedure may be beneficial either by itself or in combination with Ylift facial rejuvenation. If there is a lot of excess skin, some skin may need to be removed by making incisions behind the ears.

DOWNTIME: The downtime after a SurgYlift is about 1 week, during which time it is necessary to wear a compression strap and a soft neck collar to allow the skin to reshape along the new neck contour.

RESULTS: Results are long-lasting with proper maintenance. The Ylift and the Ellevate suture provide support for the skin and the muscles, but the skin tightening will start losing its effectiveness after a year. That means that to keep up with the results, the patients who undergo this treatment should schedule an external radiofrequency treatment such as Forma or radiofrequency microneedling such as Morpheus8 every 6 months.

Minimally invasive: Renuvion skin renewal

BENEFITS: This treatment combines skin resurfacing with skin tightening by applying helium plasma energy to the skin surface.

HOW IT WORKS: The Helium is energized and creates a cool plasma flow that delivers energy directly to the skin surface. The energy stimulates skin contraction and tightening, and the skin’s surface peels to smooth out wrinkles and blemishes. The treatment is performed with a local anesthetic injection to numb the skin being treated.

CANDIDATE: Lighter skin individuals with signs of aging, wrinkles, sagging, and discoloration, May benefit from this treatment. Those with darker skin may have more potential for skin discoloration and are not optimal candidates for this treatment. For darker and ethnic skin, another device that uses Nitrogen plasma, called NeoGen may be used. It is able to achieve results with fewer risks over the course of several treatments.

DOWNTIME: More aggressive treatment can achieve great results but requires a prolonged healing period (about 10 days). The skin may appear pink for several months after the Renuvion treatment. A less aggressive setting will allow for a quicker recovery but may require more treatment sessions to achieve results.

RESULTS: An aggressive Renuvion treatment can diver results that last for years. Normal skin protection and maintenance are important to maintain healthy skin. Less aggressive treatments accumulate the benefits over several sessions.

If you are looking for nonsurgical and minimally invasive procedures in Santa Barbara or its surrounding areas, contact West Coast Plastic Surgery Center today at (805) 978-8545 to schedule a consultation.