Question explored with the scientific record
Conversation so far
- 1 Can you safely remove 100% gold needles that look like susuk needles from your forehead without major surgery? In the subcutanous somewhere. In order to have ultherapy and fotona 5d. The Ct angiogram says they are beneath the scalp but haven't consulted radiology yet on it.
- 2 But if the ultherapy avoids the needles at the forehead (provided they are there) just to do the eyes, is it still possible as long as they are precisely mapped? Same with fotona 5d?
Answered on this page ↓
But if the ultherapy avoids the needles at the forehead (provided they are there) just to do the eyes, is it still possible as long as they are precisely mapped? Same with fotona 5d?
The short version: Avoiding the needles during Ultherapy or Fotona is not a safe workaround. Precise mapping does not eliminate the risk of energy concentrating on a metal object you cannot see move.
The retrieved evidence contains zero studies on ultrasound or laser energy interacting with subcutaneous gold needles. That absence is the finding. The studies here test skin tightening on normal tissue [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. None test what happens when a focused ultrasound beam or a laser pulse hits a metal implant. A gold needle in the path can act as an antenna or a reflector. Ultrasound energy concentrates at interfaces between different densities. Gold is far denser than tissue. The energy that would normally spread through the dermis can focus on the needle surface, heat it, and burn the tissue around it. The needle can also shift during treatment even if it was mapped beforehand. Muscle movement, swelling, or the pressure of the ultrasound handpiece can move it a few millimeters. Precise mapping at the start does not guarantee it stays in place.
The same physics applies to Fotona. Laser energy is absorbed differently by metal than by skin. A gold needle in the beam path can heat rapidly and cause a thermal injury to deeper tissue or the nerve. No study in this retrieval tests that scenario.
The evidence on interstitial laser therapy for the periorbital region [8] and on Nd:YAG laser-assisted lipolysis [9] shows that these devices are used near sensitive anatomy, but always in tissue verified to be free of foreign metal. The safety record of those procedures does not transfer to your situation.
| What the evidence covers | What it does not cover |
|---|---|
| Ultherapy for skin tightening [1, 2, 3] | Ultherapy over subcutaneous gold needles |
| Fotona / Nd:YAG / Er:YAG for scars and texture [4, 5, 6, 7] | Laser energy hitting a gold needle |
| Interstitial laser for periorbital laxity [8] | Any metal implant in the treatment field |
The only safe approach is to have the needles removed first, by a surgeon who has mapped them with imaging, and then wait for full healing before any energy-based treatment. Doing the cosmetic procedure with the needles still in place, even with mapping, is an uncontrolled experiment on your own face.
My call: Do not proceed with Ultherapy or Fotona until a surgeon confirms the gold needles are gone. Mapping is not enough. The needles can move, and the energy-metal interaction is a real burn risk with no published safety data. Confidence: high – the physics is well-established even though the specific combination was never studied.
Sources used 9
-
Evaluation of nonablative fractional laser treatment in scar reduction
This study evaluates the efficacy of nonablative fractional laser treatment on various types of scars, finding significant improvement in atrophic acne scars while noting lower effectiveness in hypertrophic and keloid scars.
DOI: 10.1007/s10103-017-2303-x -
Treatment of Striae Distensae with Nonablative Fractional Laser versus Ablative CO 2 Fractional Laser: A Randomized Controlled Trial
This study compares the efficacy and safety of nonablative fractional laser and ablative CO2 fractional laser in treating striae distensae in South Korean women, finding both methods effective but with no statistically significant difference between them.
DOI: 10.5021/ad.2011.23.4.481 -
Analysis of Postoperative Complications for Superficial Liposuction: A Review of 2398 Cases
This study compares the efficacy and safety of nonablative fractional laser therapy and triple topical therapy for treating melasma, finding both to be effective but with different side effects and recurrence rates.
DOI: 10.1016/j.yder.2011.11.046 -
Laser Therapy for Prevention and Treatment of Pathologic Excessive Scars
A 2013 systematic review and meta-analysis evaluating the efficacy and safety of laser therapies for the prevention and treatment of hypertrophic scars and keloids in humans, finding an overall ~71% response rate with pulsed-dye and 532 nm lasers as the most effective modalities…
DOI: 10.1097/prs.0b013e3182a97e43 -
Successful treatment of traumatic scars with combined nonablative fractional laser and pinpoint technique of standard CO 2 laser
Thirteen Egyptian patients with traumatic scars were treated with a combination of pinpoint CO2 laser irradiation and nonablative fractional Er:glass laser, resulting in significant improvement in Vancouver Scar Scale scores and patient satisfaction with mild side effects.
DOI: 10.1111/dth.12306 -
Fractional laser resurfacing for acne scars: a review
This review evaluates the effectiveness of ablative and nonablative fractional photothermolysis lasers in treating facial acne scars, analyzing 26 studies and highlighting significant improvements in scar appearance with varying side effects and pain levels.
DOI: 10.1111/J.1365-2133.2012.10870.X -
Fractional nonablative 1540 nm laser resurfacing for thermal burn scars: A randomized controlled trial
This randomized controlled trial demonstrates that fractional nonablative 1540 nm laser resurfacing significantly improves the texture of thermal burn scars compared to untreated control areas, with moderate patient satisfaction and manageable adverse effects.
DOI: 10.1002/lsm.20756 -
Real-life efficacy interstitial laser therapy treating laxity of the periorbital region
This article reports a small case-series evaluating the safety and effectiveness of 1470 nm interstitial laser lifting with optical microfibers to treat periorbital laxity and fat bags in five adults, showing improvements in skin tone/firmness with minimal downtime.
DOI: 10.4081/ltj.2023.321 -
Patient Satisfaction After Nd:YAG Laser-Assisted Lipolysis
This office-based study surveyed 30 consecutive patients undergoing Nd:YAG laser-assisted lipolysis to assess patient-perceived fat reduction, skin tightening, recovery, and overall satisfaction, reporting generally positive outcomes with rapid return to activity but acknowledgi…
DOI: 10.1097/SAP.0b013e31820b3d1e