FaceTite

Would you like a scarless facelift? It’s possible with FaceTite®, a cutting-edge device that rejuvenates your face and neck without leaving a scar. Jonathan Zelken, MD, in Newport Beach, California, is one of the most experienced FaceTite providers in Orange County. He has used it since it was FDA-cleared and follows and documents his patients’ results (good and bad). He’s a trainer for the company that produces the device and has written extensively on radiofrequency-assisted lipolysis (the technology used in FaceTite). Ready to learn more? Call Dr. Zelken’s office or use online booking today.

Learn more about FaceTite procedures at Dr. Zelken's office »

A facelift without the scars? Believe it! FaceTite is a revolutionary treatment that tones, lifts and revitalizes the skin.

FaceTite contours the face without excisional surgery, rejuvenating the skin without the post-procedural swelling and discomfort associated with a facelift.

What is FaceTite?

FaceTite is an innovative medical device produced by InMode. The device rejuvenates your appearance with radiofrequency energy that tightens your skin and eliminates fat.

Dr. Zelden can treat any part of your face and neck. For example, the device can tighten jowls, get rid of a double chin, and refine your jawline.

How does FaceTite work?

FaceTite consists of two connected pieces. It has a narrow tube (cannula) that goes through the fat below your skin and an external piece that glides on top of your skin above the tube.

Here’s how the device works:

Fat elimination

The cannula under your skin sends out radiofrequency (RF) energy. The energy heats the fat cells just enough to break them down. The amount of heat needed to permanently eliminate fat isn’t hot enough to damage the surrounding structures.

Skin tightening

You don’t need to worry about ending up with loose skin when the fat disappears. As the RF energy leaves the cannula, it travels toward electrodes in the piece on the skin’s surface.

The controlled energy stream shrinks the existing collagen in your skin, producing an immediate tightening effect. The heat also activates new collagen production, producing stronger, tighter, more resilient over the next six months.

What should I expect during a FaceTite procedure?

Dr. Zelken discusses what to expect and explains your anesthesia choices. Some patients need only a local anesthetic, while others also use an oral sedative to help them relax. Either way, you stay awake throughout your FaceTite procedure.

Though Dr. Zelken makes the incision in a place where it’s hidden, the cannula is so thin, and the cut is so small that scarring is virtually nonexistent. After inserting the cannula, Dr. Zelken gently and methodically moves the tube through the targeted area.

What happens after my FaceTite treatment?

After your procedure, you’ll relax in the office for a while, then you can return to your usual activities. However, most people experience temporary swelling, which you can minimize with compression garments and ice.

Since you can’t predict the extent of the swelling, most people will take a day or two away from work and social activities while the area heals.

Call Jonathan Zelken, MD, today, or connect online to request an appointment and discover if you qualify for a FaceTite procedure.

WHAT IS FACETITE?

FaceTite provides dramatic improvement in skin laxity on the face and neck, which was previously only attainable through a surgical procedure such as a facelift. FaceTite utilizes minimally invasive radio-frequency energy to melt fat and tighten skin. Dr. Zelken is an early adopter of this technology, and one of very few board-certified plastic surgeons who offers FaceTite.

TREATMENT AREAS

Any areas on the face and neck with saggy skin can be treated. This includes the double chin, jowl line as well as other areas with deep lines and loose skin.

HOW IT WORKS

FaceTite uses radio frequency technology to stimulate the production of collagen, an important protein that helps give the skin its structure.

WATCH VIDEO

My skin has not felt this firm since I was a single woman in my twenties. There was little to no discomfort and I was back to my normal activities the next day.

–J. S. – Actual patient

IS FACETITE A RISKY PROCEDURE?

Dr. Zelken has been compiling a database of patients he has treated. Since many patients travel from out of town, it can be hard to arrange long-term follow-up. In the first 100 patients he has treated, no life-threatening or unsalvageable complications occurred. Patient satisfaction is high in the author’s practice and appearance was enhanced in most patients. Additional treatments or surgery is rarely needed to achieve patient satisfaction. Of course, complications can occur. In his first hundred patients, the biggest complications were unsightly entry scars and temporary nerve weakness. Several patients desired more tightness than the technology could achieve. In his second hundred patients, there were fewer complications as a result of modifications in technique and patient selection.

BEFORE & AFTER PHOTOS

Before

After

Individual results may vary

FAQ

HOW QUICKLY WILL I SEE RESULTS?

Results can be seen immediately, with best results noticeable after 6-12 weeks.

WHAT KIND OF PROCEDURE CARE IS REQUIRED?

FaceTite is a minimally-invasive procedure performed under local anesthesia or light sedation. Post procedure, patient can go home and resume regular activities shortly after. Wearing a compression garment is required for best results.

WHY CHOOSE DR. ZELKEN FOR MY FACETITE PROCEDURE?

He is a board-certified plastic surgeon, which gives him a distinct advantage in surgical planning, expectation guidance, and avoidance and treatment of complications. Furthermore, Dr. Zelken is the most experienced provider of FaceTite, in Orange County. He has been using it for almost as long as it has been cleared by the F.D.A. for use in the United States in 2016. Dr. Zelken has been carefully scrutinizing the results, both good and bad, of the technology and is helping forge the way for new adopters of the technology. He has written extensively on the topic of radiofrequency assisted lipolysis (RFAL), is a trainer for InMode, and had been featured on television and radio for his work.

HOW OFTEN DO PATIENTS COMPLAIN OR NOT SEE RESULTS?

Complications that resulted in patient complaints or reoperation occurred in 14% of the first 100 procedures Dr. Zelken performed. 40% of those were in patients seeking revision for a prior procedure done elsewhere. In the second 100 procedures performed, that figure dropped to 10%. Most of these complications did not require surgery.

WHAT IS NEUROPRAXIA? WILL I HAVE A FUNNY SMILE AFTER FACETITE?

Neuropraxia occurred in one of 20 people treated. Neuropraxia is the medical term for nerve bruise. People with neuropraxia look like one side of the lower lip is higher when they laugh or smile. Complete recovery is expected by 3 months in the majority of patients, and we can mask nerve injuries with neurotoxins like Botox. However, be careful with this. Dr. Zelken is happy to treat an asymmetric smile with neurotoxins like Botox but remember that nerve recovery comes back as soon as 2 days after surgery, so sometimes it takes longer for the Botox to wear off than for the nerve to recover. This complication is a nuisance, but it is temporary and should not cause concern.

CAN FACETITE CAUSE LUMPS AND BUMPS?

Yes. Contour deformity has occurred in the face in patients treated with FaceTite. In the face, over-resection of fat along the posterior jawline can weaken it and make the jowls look more prominent. Dr. Zelken avoids this by avoiding liposuction over the jawline. Puffiness of the jowls can occur for up to 2 months after liposuction and tightening. Dr. Zelken prefers to be very conservative in the area of the double chin in older patients so the fat can mask platysmal bands which are a sign of aging.

CAN FACETITE CAUSE BURNS?

FaceTite works by heating tissue and causing controlled thermal injury so they can, of course, but should not, cause burns. The BodyTite machine is carefully engineered to turn off when a certain temperature is reached, and your provider should have been formally trained and observed by a vetted trainer to prevent burn injury. Dr. Zelken has had one burn injury in his first 200 patients treated. However, this occurred in an area that was not treated directly by RFAL. The patient previously underwent cosmetic threading of the face and this may have caused a wicking effect along the path of the fibers to their entry site at the chin where a small burn injury occurred. This was treated successfully, but Dr. Zelken discourages FaceTite in patients who previously had thread lifting for this reason.

OTHER THAN PATIENTS WITH PREVIOUS THREAD LIFTS, WHO ELSE MAY NOT BE GOOD CANDIDATES?

Patients seeking minimally invasive surgery to correct previous cosmetic surgery and nonsurgical treatments are most likely to remain unsatisfied after FaceTite. In his first 100 patients treated, 4% of patients treated with FaceTite were unsatisfied with the extent of soft tissue contraction. These patients were women and all treatments were of the neck and lower face. These patients chose FaceTite to revise a previous rhytidectomy (facelift), or sought correction of aggressive submental liposuction performed elsewhere, or were previously treated with threads, deoxycholic acid, and cryolipolysis. Having said that, these same patients who complained of inadequate facial soft tissue contraction were treated early after the author adopted the RFAL technology and Dr. Zelken has increased his treatment settings more recently to achieve more visible tightening. If you have had prior surgery or treatments, worry not! Most patients who seek FaceTite are candidates so you should be seen in person to determine your candidacy.

Night of surgery. The patient has marked swelling and is able to open her eyes part-way. She does not have visual complaints and has no need for pain medication

Postoperative day 2 and 3 are usually the worst in Asian eyelids as the fluid swelling is replaced by the body’s natural inflammatory responses.

The next day is more of the same, but avoidance of strenuous activity and use of the ointment prescribed facilitates quicker recovery. Bruising begins to fade

As swelling resolves the result begins to show, although we are months away from the final outcome. There are still bruises and asymmetries.

Stitches generally come out on postoperative day 6 or 7. The act of stitch removal usually stirs up a small amount of swelling, and can be somewhat uncomfortable, but without stitches there, the healing process speeds up and you can be red carpet ready within 2-3 weeks.