Active Fx, Nose Job Steroids and Velasmooth vs Thermage

Hi Dr. Rivkin - thanks for your thoughts on active fx and body tightening procedures. Why do you feel active fx is a better treatment vs fraxel - would love your opinion!

Also - had a wonderful corrective nose job (he cleaned up the problems by another dr) by a great surgeon in Beverly Hills -it was my third nose surgery and it looks amazing. I am 1/2 armenian - thicker skin so I do have a little bit of scar tissue between the skin and cartialage so the refinement is a little off - would you recommend steroid injections to improve? It's been a couple of years since the surgery and am super happy with overall result!

Sorry - one last question for you! You mentioned that thermage for back area of leg is not that great but vela smooth is good. I am an avid runner - do pilates and yoga so in really good overall shape. I don't have any cellulite but am getting older (46 yrs) so notice the skin isn't as firm -it's muscular but a few lines on the back of my thigh area. I am also pretty small - 5 ft 4 and about 110 lbs - would you still recommend vela smooth vs thermage for that area??? I"ve always had really good legs and want to keep them firm firm firm!!!

Thanks - you are so helpful and still need to come in for a visit next time I'm in LA!


hi,
well, i have both fraxel and active fx. the active fx is a co2 laser, as opposed to erbium for the fraxel. what that means for you is that the effect is more intense with the active fx. it goes deeper and the healing response is more intense. so, one active fx treatment is equivalent to about 3 fraxels. but you get it over with all at once, instead of going through downtime 3 times. also, for problems such as deep acne scars, the fraxel just does not get the results that the active fx does, as far as i have seen.
i don't know if i would suggest an intervention if you are happy with the result of your surgery - there's always a risk whenever you do anything. so, if you're really happy, maybe leave it alone. steroids do work for that kind of refinement, though. so, if you want to, it would work.
for your legs, i would try the vela first - its alot cheaper than the thermage and it may be good enough. if not, then perhaps thermage would be a good idea.