Upland Med Spa & Wellness Center

Less Invasive Procedures:
Botox, Mesotherapy, and Microdermabrasion

Many cosmetic plastic surgeons own a med spa so they can cater to more clients who seek for medically-assisted enhancements but do not want to undergo extensive surgeries which can be sometimes replaced with less invasive procedures such as:

• Botox injection and facial fillers – these treatments can be used as a substitute to facelift surgery which requires several incisions that are often placed behind the hairline. In general, younger patients who have less sagging in their skin are the ideal candidates for these procedures.

• Mesotherapy – this is a great alternative to traditional liposuction which is performed with a fat suctioning probe or cannula, a process which may traumatized the surrounding tissue. In this treatment, a doctor injects medications to destroy the unwanted fat cells which are then naturally flushed out by the body over time.

• Microdermabrasion – this procedure, which is also called as “power peel,” can gently remove the top layers of the skin using tiny crystals to address mild acne scars, fine lines, sun spots and age spots, and leathery skin. This is a great alternative to dermabrasion in which the skin is frozen before its surface is blasted with sand.

Less Invasive Procedures:
Dermal Fillers, Thermage, Lipodissolve

• Dermal fillers – these include collagen, hyaluronic acid, and calcium hydroxylapatite which can be a great substitute to cheek implants as they can also augment the hollowed cheeks. However, the result of these treatments only last several months and should be repeated if a person wants to maintain her youthful appearance.

• Thermage – this treatment, which can tighten the skin and make it appear youthful, can replace traditional body lift in which several incisions are placed to remove and/or tighten the excess skin. In this procedure, an apparatus is placed on top of the skin to tighten the collagen, thereby correcting the sagging appearance (as long as the problem is minimal). And because it can also address fine lines and wrinkles, this is also used as a substitute to facelift.

• Lipodissolve – this is a non-surgical liposuction which can remove the stubborn excess fats in the abdomen and flanks. This treatment is performed by injecting medications to turn the fatty deposits into a liquid form, allowing the body to easily flush them out of the system over the course of a few weeks.

Advantages of Minimally Invasive Procedures

Most minimally invasive procedures offered by medical spas involve little to no downtime unlike the plastic surgery in which the recovery often lasts several days to weeks.  For this reason, most male patients—who are found to be more reluctant to undergo surgical techniques than women—favor this kind of treatments.

However, it does not mean that minimally invasive procedures are not popular among women.  In fact, female patients accounted for about 94 percent of the 5.4 million Botox treatments performed in 2010.

In general, non-invasive treatments offered by med spas cost significantly lower than plastic surgery as they are often performed without anesthesia and special surgical facilities.  However, procedures involving skin tightening are often expensive because they usually involve the use of pricey equipment.

Another advantage of non-surgical treatments is that they involve minimal to almost no risk because no incisions are used during the procedure.  On the other hand, plastic surgery in general is performed with scalpel, thereby leading to a higher risk of infection, scarring, delayed healing, and other complications.

Meanwhile, many states do not require any license for staffs who are working in med spas; consequently; it is important for people to only choose those which are supervised by on-site health care professionals, especially if they will undergo laser treatments, facial rejuvenations, and other procedures that may result to burns, blisters, and scars if not performed correctly.

Treatment Fees

Because med spas focus more on cosmetic enhancements, the cost of treatments is not covered by health insurance.  Fortunately, these are generally less expensive than most plastic surgery procedures.

The cost of each treatment will depend on the treated area, clinic’s location, doctor’s fee, and technique being used.  Another consideration is that certain procedures such as microdermabrasion, cellulite removal, and non-surgical liposuctions are often performed more than once in order to achieve the best possible result.

In 2010, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) conducted a survey to determine the national average cost of the most popular non-invasive cosmetic procedures. Here are some of the average costs:

• Botox ($375)
• Chemical Peel ($706)
• Laser Hair Removal ($383)
• Cellulite Treatment ($230)
• Microdermabrasion ($146)
• Collagen injection ($468)