HIFU and Ultherapy cost in Singapore:
what decides the fee

Why is there no HIFU price list in Singapore?

The fee for HIFU at this practice is quoted in writing after a consultation and examination, never before, for two reasons. The first is regulatory: Singapore's rules on healthcare advertising restrict how prices may be advertised, and the Singapore Medical Council expects fees to be made known to the patient before treatment rather than used to attract them to it. The second is clinical: no plan for focused ultrasound can be set before the face and neck have been examined, because the plan is what sets the fee.

That is why this page describes what moves a HIFU fee and not what the fee is. The practice's general approach to fees is set out on the page on how fees are quoted, and the sequence from enquiry to written plan is described under what happens at a consultation.

Which parts of the plan move the HIFU fee?

Six things move a HIFU fee. The first is the area: the jawline alone, the lower face and under the chin, the midface, the brow and the neck are planned as separate zones, and a plan that covers several zones is a different piece of work from one that covers one. The second is depth: tissue thickness is palpated over each zone, and the assessment decides whether the deeper cartridge is appropriate there, whether the shallower cartridges are used instead, or whether both are layered. Each cartridge adds consumable use and time.

The third is the number of lines, which is an output of the map rather than a figure chosen in advance; the page on HIFU shots explained sets out why a shot count from one device does not translate to another. The fourth is the device and its consumables: the Ultraformer MPT uses cartridges with a finite number of lines, and the cartridges opened for a plan are part of its cost. The fifth is physician time, because the energy and sequence are adjusted to feedback rather than run as a preset. The sixth is the review visit, which is planned and itemised rather than sold separately.

“The device is the instrument, not the treatment — two clinics with identical Ultraformers can deliver entirely different results, because the lift is in the mapping.”

Dr Sin YongOn why the operator matters more than the badge on the machine

Why do two HIFU quotes in Singapore differ so much?

Two HIFU quotes usually differ because they describe different things, not because one clinic is overcharging. A lower number may describe a different platform with a different cartridge set and clearance, fewer zones or lines, a shallower-only plan, a session delivered by a therapist under a preset, or a quote that leaves out the review visit and any later adjustment. A higher number is not evidence of a better plan either.

The honest comparison is line by line: which device, which depths over which zones, who palpates the tissue and sets the energy, what is excluded, and what happens if the review finds that laxity was not the main problem after all. Those answers tell you what a figure contains. The figure on its own does not.

Does combining HIFU with another treatment change the fee?

Yes, in both directions. Where the assessment finds laxity in the dermis and subcutaneous layer rather than at SMAS depth, Volnewmer monopolar radiofrequency in the VF Lift – Vertical Facelift may be proposed instead of, or alongside, focused ultrasound, and the HIFU zones may shrink or drop out of the plan altogether. Where compact fat in the jowl or under the chin is part of the picture, Time Freeze Laser LCLR® may be staged with it. Where the problem is mainly volume loss, HIFU may not be advised at all.

A combined plan is quoted as its parts: each treatment, its area and its consumables are itemised, together with the order in which they are staged and the review that follows each step. No treatment is added to a plan because it is available; it is added because the assessment finds the layer it works on.

How does a written HIFU quote work at this practice?

Dr Sin Yong examines the face at rest and in animation, palpates skin and fat thickness over each zone, and maps where the SMAS is lax against where volume is missing. From that map comes a plan in plain language: the zones, the cartridge depths, the device, whether anything is combined, and the review visit. The fee is attached to that plan and handed over in writing. You can take it home; there is no same-day decision and no package to sign.

The consultation can also end with no HIFU proposed, because a full submental fat pad, a hollow midface or a heavy lower face with redundant skin are not focused-ultrasound problems. That outcome carries the consultation fee, which is stated when you book, and nothing else.