Clinical Applications of Radiofrequency: Nonsurgical Skin Tightening (Thermage)

Thermage is a nonsurgical treatment for sagging skin in the jowl, neck, and eyelids. Abdominal striae, loose upper arm skin and buttock sagging, and improvement of the appearance of cellulite have become amenable to the radiofrequency treatment. Radiofrequency passed through cooled epidermis allows for radiofrequency-induced thermal damage to the dermis and deep dermal collagen (fibrous septae). The remodeling of the collagen leads to clinically discernible improvement in the sagging skin and skin quality; the remodeling of deep dermal collagen (fibrous septae) allows modeling of contours and improvement of the cellulite appearance.