Ellacor
WHAT IS ELLACOR?
Ellacor is a revolutionary new treatment to remove excess skin without undergoing surgery. Utilizing a proprietary process called microcoring, Ellacor removes thousands of small full thickness cores of skin during each treatment. Because of the extremely small size of each core (< 0.5mm), they close quickly (in 3 days or less) and do not leave any visible scars. This is done without using any heat energy, so there is no risk of unintended thermal injury as with other non-surgical skin tightening procedures. In addition to removing up to 2cm of skin per treatment, studies have shown that the treatment all triggers a robust formation of collagen and elastin, the building blocks of the skin further tightening the skin and improving the overall tone and texture. The end result is both the removal of excess skin and the softening of wrinkles.
WHAT AREAS CAN BE TREATED?
Ellacor is FDA approved for treating the lower face, neck, and the entire body. Commonly treated areas on the body are the abdomen, arms, thighs, knees and elbows.
WHAT IS THE TREATMENT LIKE?
Ellacor is a non-surgical procedure, and sedation anesthesia is not required. The area to be treated is typically numbed with a topical numbing cream for ~ 30 minutes prior to the procedure. After this, numbing medication (lidocaine) is injected into the treatment area, so the patient does not feel any discomfort at all during the treatment. Once numb, a small handheld device is used to remove the cores from the entire treatment area, which takes ~ 25 minutes depending on the size of the area. While the treatment is performed, an assistant continuously wipes the treated area clean.
WHAT IS THE DOWNTIME?
The Ellacor treatment typically has mild swelling and some bruising of the treatment sites for 3 – 5 days. Patients rarely experience any discomfort once the numbing medication wears off. The treatment area looks very red and stamped for the first 10-14 days, but fading redness will be noticeable for most patients for 6-8 weeks. The cores close within 3 days, so tinted sunscreen or coverup can be used starting 72 hours after treatment. Starting the day of the procedure, patients begin applying a topical serum (Plated Calm or Alastin Skin Nectar) three times daily for one week. They are to wash their skin twice daily with a gentle moisturizer starting the day after the procedure. A dilute hypochlorous acid spray is also provided to use prior to each serum application, as it is very soothing and helps keep the treatment site clean. Visible results can typically begin to be seen by 2 weeks, but typically the most noticeable results appear by 2 months. Improvements continue up to six months after treatment because of the continued formation of collagen and elastin. Since patient downtime is minimal, makeup can be applied 1 to 2 days after the treatment. We frequently see patients back in follow-up 1 week after procedure, and depending on the degree of redness we may recommend treatment with a vascular laser (VBeam Perfecta) or prescribe a topical steroid to help speed up its resolution.
HOW MANY ELLACOR TREATMENTS WILL I NEED?
While this varies for each patient, most get the best results after 2 to 3 treatments. Treatments can be performed ~ 2 months apart. For many patients, we have seen faster resolution of redness and tightening of skin with subsequent treatments.
WHO IS A CANDIDATE?
Any patient with excess skin or wrinkles of the lower face, neck, or body is a potential candidate for Ellacor. It is currently FDA approved for patients who are Fitzpatrick skin type I-IV due to the concern of causing skin pigment changes in darker skinned patients; studies are currently being done to determine Ellacor’s safety in darker skinned patients. Ellacor is contraindicated in patients who have formed keloid scars, on open wounds, in patients with autoimmune skin conditions (i.e. scleroderma, psoriasis, collagen disorders), or patients taking anti-coagulants or anti-platelet (“blood-thinning”) medications. A full consultation with one of our board certified plastic surgeons is required to determine a patients candidacy for Ellacor treatment.