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A new you: No surgery required

Two trendy, noninvasive cosmetic surgery treatments now available in Hawaii promise no cutting, no scarring, no side effects and no downtime.

One — Ultherapy — relies on the same ultrasound imaging technology used to examine pregnant women or treat kidney stones to reduce the appearance of saggy cheeks, jowls, jawlines and necks. The other — Coolsculpting — is touted as a less traumatic option to liposuction to remove unwanted bulges.

“The baby boomers are driving this market. They don’t want to let aging come without a fight,” said Dr. Todd Mirzai of Hawaii Plastic Surgery Associates, who began offering Ultherapy early this year.

Both treatments have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

ULTHERAPY

Mirzai said Ultherapy is the first nonsurgical treatment that treats sagging tissue at two levels: the deep part of the skin and the skin’s underlying support structure.

“We are using age-old technology to see below the surface of the skin,” he said.

The Ultherapy device takes radiation-free images of the inner layers of skin and heats the areas to be treated, causing the skin to respond and create collagen, a protein that gives the skin the appearance of fullness and smoothness. The treatment precisely targets tissue beneath the skin’s surface, leaving the top layers unharmed.

The ultrasound pulses might feel hot, prickly or tingly, and patients might experience some discomfort during a session, which takes about 45 to 60 minutes.

“Just like exercise builds a muscle, it is this heat energy that builds collagen and provides an overall lifting effect to the face and neck,” Mirzai said.

“It is a first-of-its-kind technology — it’s a game changer. We are able to see below the skin and visualize the tissues without making any incisions.”

The procedure, which costs about $4,500 for a face and neck treatment, is said to work best for patients just starting to show signs of aging, not those with a lot of excess skin and muscle. Mirzai said most of his patients who have undergone Ultherapy are in the 35-to-65 age range.

“It’s not a replacement for the face lift,” Mirzai said. “There’s no magic bullet, but doing things earlier could eliminate the need for surgery. It could at least push the process back.

Hawaii Ventriloquist Mike Ching!: Imaginative Magic ...

&Nbsp;  Mike Ching has been a magician since age 6, and a student of Ventriloquism from age 7.  As a child he was part of the Ventriloquist club of Honolulu's late "Howdy Reynolds" (a contemporary of Edgar Bergen), and performed in Hawaii and California.  His earliest heros were the great Edgar Bergen, Shari Lewis, Paul Winchell, Jimmy Nelson, "Professor Fun" and Senor Wences.  Today he is a fan of Ronn Lucas and other current performers.  Mike has been President of Hawaii's Society of American Magicians (SAM), and International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM).