Not sure whether imaging matters for your face? See Ultherapy vs HIFU.
How Ultherapy sits among the platforms for HIFU treatment in Singapore, and who suits focused ultrasound at all, is set out in the main guide.
Published 31 October 2026 · Reviewed by Dr Sin Yong
What to expect at an Ultherapy visit with Dr Sin Yong is an assessment before any energy, then a map: the zones and depths are planned, the skin is cleansed and marked, comfort is discussed, and before each line the DeepSEE image confirms the layer beneath the transducer. Afterwards the skin may be flushed and slightly swollen, and a review reads the response.
Short answerUltherapy Prime differs from other focused ultrasound at one step: the tissue is imaged before each line is delivered, so the depth in each zone is confirmed rather than assumed. There are no incisions and no dressings. This page sits under Ultherapy in Singapore; who suits it is on Ultherapy suitability.
Before any line is delivered there is an assessment, and it decides whether focused ultrasound is the right energy for your face at all. Dr Sin Yong examines the face at rest and in animation, pinches and lifts the skin to gauge its recoil, and separates three things that look alike: laxity, which Ultherapy treats; volume loss, which it cannot replace; and fat, which it is not directed at. He does not plan Ultherapy for a lean face, where heat in thin fat can read as hollowing. If Ultherapy is not the right mechanism, he says so; that is a common outcome of the appointment.
Illustrative image — not a patient.
Before the visit, declare any pacemaker, implant or metal, threads or fillers, all medicines and skin conditions, and pregnancy or breastfeeding. Avoid sun and tanning beforehand. Where filler is suspected in a zone, ultrasound is used to see it first. You leave with a written plan naming the zones, the fee factors and the option of no treatment; what sets the fee is on Ultherapy cost factors.
How is the face mapped and prepared for Ultherapy?
On the day the plan is confirmed and the face is examined again. Lines are planned zone by zone: which depths, how many lines and in which direction. The brow and forehead take shallower depths, because there is little SMAS above the brow. The jawline and lower face take 4.5 mm at the SMAS where the image later shows enough depth, with 3.0 mm above. Under the chin and the neck are planned at the platysma where the tissue allows. Around the eyes and on the décolletage, the superficial depth alone is used, kept within the bony orbital rim, and the eye is never in the beam path.
The skin is cleansed and the zones are marked. Analgesia is discussed and provided according to the areas being treated and your tolerance, because the 4.5 mm lines are felt most. Ultrasound gel is then applied so that the transducer couples cleanly with the skin; poor coupling is one of the causes of surface burns, which is why contact is checked on the screen before each line.
“I check the image before every line. A depth that is right on one cheek can be wrong on the temple, and the screen is how I know.”
Dr Sin YongOn how an Ultherapy treatment is run
What does the screen show, and what does Ultherapy feel like?
Before each line, the DeepSEE image shows the tissue beneath the transducer to a depth of about 8 mm: the dermis, the fat, the SMAS and the bone. That is the step most patients underestimate. On a thin temple the SMAS may lie at 3 mm; on a full cheek the 4.5 mm focus may land in fat. The image is how those mismatches are seen before energy is delivered. Where it shows thinner tissue than expected, a shallower transducer is used or the zone is left out.
Once the target layer and full contact are confirmed, the line is delivered: a row of small heat points beneath an unbroken surface. Sensations range from warmth to a brief deep ache that comes and goes with each line, most noticeable over bone and along the jaw. A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of micro-focused ultrasound with visualisation recorded a moderate average pain score, which is why comfort is planned rather than left to chance. Tell Dr Sin Yong what you feel; energy and sequence are adjusted to it. A sharp or lingering pain is a reason to stop and reassess the line.
The thyroid, the orbital rim and the course of the marginal mandibular nerve along the jaw are kept out of the field, and the temporal branch above the brow is respected in the same way.
What happens straight after Ultherapy, and what needs a call?
The gel is removed and the skin is checked. It may look flushed and slightly swollen. There are no incisions and no dressings, and ordinary activities, make-up and skincare can resume, with sun protection as usual. Some tightness may be felt early, from the immediate contraction of heated collagen; swelling can make the face look fuller or tighter than it will once it settles, so what you see on the day is not the result.
What is normal
Redness that settles as the skin cools.
Tenderness along the treated lines, felt on pressing or chewing.
Mild swelling, and an occasional patch of numbness or tingling, which can persist for a time.
Small bruises.
What needs a call
A welt or ridge that does not flatten.
A white line, blister or crust on the surface.
New weakness of a facial muscle, such as an uneven smile or difficulty raising a brow.
Ultherapy works through collagen remodelling in the layers the image confirmed were treated, so the response is read at a review rather than in the mirror on the way home. Dr Sin Yong examines the face again at rest and in animation, compares it with the photographs in your record and palpates the treated zones.
Whether anything further is appropriate is decided then, and sometimes the answer is nothing. Where the examination shows that laxity in the skin itself is the larger part of the picture, Thermage FLX may be considered; where a hollow or compact fat is contributing, the VF Lift – Vertical Facelift or Time Freeze Laser LCLR® may be staged. Ageing continues after treatment, so any later treatment is planned from a fresh examination rather than a fixed schedule. How the platforms compare is on Ultherapy Prime vs Ultraformer MPT vs Shurink, and the visit for non-imaging HIFU on what a HIFU visit involves.
Your next step
1. MessageWhatsApp +65 8023 7170 with what is bothering you. A reply comes from the clinic, not a bot.
2. AssessmentDr Sin Yong examines you himself on Orchard Road, with ultrasound where earlier filler is involved.
3. A plan in writingWhat he would do, what he would not, the fee factors, and the option of no treatment.
Every treatment is performed by Dr Sin Yong personally. Singapore Medical Council registered · invited to share his clinical expertise internationally for CLASSYS, DEKA, Fotona, Hironic and Ilooda.
Book an assessment with Dr Sin Yong on Orchard Road; the zones are mapped and imaged before any line is delivered. How consultations work.
Analgesia for Ultherapy is discussed at the assessment and provided according to the areas being treated and your tolerance. The deeper 4.5 mm lines along the jaw and under the chin are felt most, and the shallower lines less. During treatment Dr Sin Yong adjusts energy and sequence to what you report, so telling him what you feel is part of the treatment.
Most people describe warmth or a brief deep ache that comes and goes with each line, most noticeable over bone and along the jawline, where there is less tissue to cushion the heat. A systematic review of micro-focused ultrasound with visualisation recorded moderate pain on average. A sharp, lingering or electric pain is not expected and is a reason to stop and reassess.
Usually, yes. Ultherapy leaves no incisions and needs no dressings, and ordinary activities, make-up and skincare can resume, with sun protection as usual. The skin may look flushed and slightly swollen, and the treated lines can feel tender on pressing or chewing. Plan important events around that swelling settling, which is discussed at the assessment.
The DeepSEE image shows the dermis, fat, SMAS and bone beneath the transducer before each line, so the depth for each zone is confirmed rather than assumed. On a thin temple the SMAS may sit shallower than expected; on a full cheek the deepest focus may land in fat. Where the image shows thinner tissue, a shallower transducer is used or the zone is left out.
Dr Sin Yong says so, and the plan points to whatever matches the problem. A lean face with laxity is usually planned for the VF Lift – Vertical Facelift, a heavy lower face for Time Freeze Laser LCLR®, laxity in the skin itself for Thermage FLX, and marked skin excess for a surgical opinion. Not proceeding is a common and acceptable outcome of the visit.
References
Microfocused Ultrasound With Visualization (MFU-V) Effectiveness and Safety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Aesthetic Surgery Journal 45(3), 2025. source
Microfocused Ultrasound With Visualization: A Systematic Review of Adverse Events and Risk of Subsequent Facelift Compromise. Dermatologic Surgery 51(4), 2025. source
About this page: written and medically reviewed by Dr Sin Yong, MBBS (NUS), MRCS (Edinburgh) · Last reviewed 6 November 2026 · Illustrative images only, not patients · Editorial policy
