Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Would you please Yag my Sag?

We had a patient say "Please Yag my Sag today", when she heard that the NdYag laser can be safely used to tighten saggy loose skin, as well as lift the saggy neck, brow and forehead.

If you have heard of Ulthera, which is also used for this purpose.  In our office, we performed a split face study on a few patients where we compared our powerful Yag laser with the new Ulthera Ultrasound tightening for lower face and neck.  Yes, our sample size was small and not a true valid controlled study, but our before/after pictures showed the Yag-treated side of the patient's to be better in improvement (less wrinkling, and more lift) compared to the Ulthera side.  Our office published a split-faced study in 2006 comparing the Yag laser for tightening to Thermage with seven patients.  In addition, most people do not need anesthesia for Yag tightening and lifting, whereas these other devices are very painful and do require some at least local numbing and/or sedation.

While we do like Ulthera, and think it's effective, right now we prefer our Yag treatment for both tightening and lifting, because it takes half the time, less painful, less expensive to doctor and patient, and gives the same or better satisfaction per treatment.

We are currently studying the use of the Yag laser for vaginal tightening post-baby or for incontinence.  This is an exciting new treatment that is already popular outside of the United States.


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