HIFU vs Ultherapy

HIFU vs Ultherapy

Is Ultherapy the same as HIFU?

The short answer

Ultherapy is one brand of HIFU. HIFU, high-intensity focused ultrasound, is the name of the technique; Ultherapy is a system made by Merz Aesthetics that applies it, and Ultherapy Prime is the version installed at Rewind Plastic Surgery. Every Ultherapy treatment is therefore a HIFU treatment. The reverse does not hold, because many machines use focused ultrasound and they vary in imaging, transducers and the way plans are counted.

Device details come from Rewind's equipment documentation and the manufacturer's own interface. Rewind holds a single focused-ultrasound platform, so this page compares device features and makes no comparison between providers.

Patients often meet the two words in separate advertisements and assume they are rivals. They sit at different levels. One describes how energy reaches the tissue; the other names a particular system with its own imaging, its own transducers and its own record of what was delivered.

At Rewind, focused ultrasound is offered only on Ultherapy Prime. What follows sets out what that device shares with the rest of the category and what it adds, so that any HIFU offer you are weighing can be read against it. The full device profile is on the Ultherapy Prime page.

The differences

Where Ultherapy Prime differs from generic HIFU

Four features separate one focused-ultrasound system from another. Ultherapy Prime can be described on each from its own documentation and interface; for any other device, the same four questions are worth putting to whoever offers it.

01See

Does Ultherapy use imaging? Yes, before each line

Ultherapy Prime shows an ultrasound image of the tissue layers on its screen, so the operator can see where bone, muscle and fat sit before energy is delivered. The published papers on this platform call it microfocused ultrasound with visualization.

02Depth

Ultherapy transducers are labelled by focal depth

The platform uses interchangeable transducers, each set to a single focal depth. One plan can combine depths across different zones, and which depths your face receives is decided at examination.

03Count

Ultherapy counts lines; HIFU offers count many ways

Each activation is logged on screen as a line. HIFU plans on other systems may be written in shots, lines or treated areas, so matching the units is the first step of any fair comparison.

04Proof

Checking that an Ultherapy unit is genuine

Rewind displays the genuine-device plaque issued for its Ultherapy Prime, so the name on your quote can be checked against the machine in the room.

Pricing

Why Ultherapy costs more than some HIFU offers

Rewind lists Ultherapy Prime at two plan sizes. The clinic has no lower-cost HIFU device to set beside it, so it cannot quote one. What it can set out is what the figure pays for: a system that images the tissue, transducers supplied for that system, a certified unit and a plan written by a plastic surgeon. When a cheaper HIFU figure reaches you, compare it on those four points and on cost per line before comparing totals.

List prices, VAT excluded; the anaesthetic fee is part of the listed figure where anaesthesia is used. A plan combining Ultherapy Prime with another lifting device is quoted after examination.

Recovery

After Ultherapy: the aftercare Rewind gives for all HIFU

Rewind gives one set of aftercare instructions for all its device lifting, so choosing Ultherapy Prime changes nothing about the days that follow.

Imaging does not remove the known risks of focused ultrasound: temporary redness, swelling, bruising and tenderness, and less often numbness, altered sensation or nerve irritation. Tell the doctor about every earlier treatment in the area before the plan is written.

Questions

HIFU vs Ultherapy: frequently asked questions