Doctors using ThermiRF for sagging jawlines, double chins

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. (WPVI) -- Several doctors in our area are offering an in-office solution to treat sagging jawlines and double chins.

Susan always wants to present a fresh, energetic face to business clients.

But lately, she wasn't seeing it in the mirror.

"Gravity decided to attack my jowl line," Susan said.

She wanted to smooth out that area, but without full surgery or looking like she'd had a lift.

In researching options, she came across the recently approved ThermiRF - RF, short for radiofrequency energy.

Dr. Allan Wulc says lifting jawlines and necks has been challenging.

Fillers have been used to plump jawline creases, the marionette lines, but Wulc says they get jowly and full.

Doctors have recently used RF to treat the skin surface.

It heats tissue, shrinking collagen, that's the connective tissue.

But Dr. Wulc says results are limited; to get to the deeper layers for a full effect, it would be too hot for the outer skin.

In ThermiRF, the face is numbed, then a thin wand is inserted into those layers.

"You can control the time of the heating, the temperature of the heating, and also where you're heating," Wulc said.

Sensors and a thermal imaging camera make sure the temperature above and below are carefully controlled.

And the incisions are so tiny, there's no need for stitches.

"The evening of the procedure, I had no pain whatsoever. I was pretty swollen," Susan said.

But Susan says she didn't bruise, and the swelling went down in about four days.

The tightening occurs gradually.

However, three months later, Susan says there's no mistaking it, she sees the results.

The tightening continues for at least three more months.

Dr. Wulc says ThermiRF is getting a lot of attention from men, as well!

"When you have excess skin and fat hanging over the top of your tie, you become self-conscious," Wulc said.

ThermiRF is considered an in-between treatment, between non-invasive ones and full surgery.

The price is in-between, too - about $4,000.

Dr. Allan Wulc's Website

To find doctors offering ThermiRF: http://www.thermi.com/find-a-doctor