Rarely, in our experience, and the risks are known and listed on the manufacturer's label, which is why Ultherapy is a medical procedure done by a trained clinician watching the tissue on a live ultrasound image. Ultherapy is FDA-cleared in the US to lift the brow, the skin under the chin and the neck, to improve the lines of the chest and to improve loose skin on the abdomen, the arms and the knees, and its side effects have been studied and published since its first US clearance in 2009. We go through the risks with every patient at the free consultation, because knowing them is part of deciding.
What is common and short-lived
Redness for a few hours; swelling for one to three days; tenderness for anything from two days to two weeks; some bruising. On the chest, welts, raised swelling and bruising can last up to three weeks. These are expected, they settle on their own, and makeup can go on the next day.
What is uncommon
A passing numbness, tingling or weakness along a nerve, which the manufacturer's label puts at two to six weeks to settle, and up to five weeks on the chest. The label reports no lasting injury to a facial nerve in its clinical trials.
What is rare, and why it is avoided
A 2025 review of 19 published articles covering 506 patients and 106 reports to the US regulator found one case of fat loss among the 506 patients in the published studies, while fat or volume loss, lasting nerve effects and scarring were the most frequent of the 106 voluntary reports. The label ties burns and scarring to incorrect technique, such as a tilted transducer, lines placed too close or gel pockets; it names no cause for the reported fat loss or nerve effects. The live imaging and the clinician's settings per zone reduce these risks, though they cannot remove them: the depth is chosen for each area at 1.5, 3.0 or 4.5 mm, the console shows the layers to 8 mm, and the energy is never placed over the eyes or the eyelids, the thyroid, the windpipe or the main vessels and nerves, all of which the manufacturer's label excludes. If you are slim in the face or worried about losing volume in the cheeks, say so; the plan changes.
Who should not have it
The manufacturer's label rules out open wounds or lesions, severe or cystic acne, and active or metallic implants in the treated area. It does not recommend treating directly over dermal fillers, mechanical or breast implants, or an existing keloid, and it has not evaluated pregnancy, breastfeeding, bleeding disorders, active skin disease, autoimmune disease, diabetes or epilepsy, so the clinician decides case by case, and in pregnancy and breastfeeding we do not treat. Recent injectable treatments need a gap, and any thread lift in the area is checked at the consultation, and an eyeliner tattoo sits on the eyelid, which the label keeps out of the treatment area. The clinician checks each at the free consultation.
How we work
A trained clinician in a doctor-led team, a genuine Merz Ultherapy system with live imaging, the comfort plan agreed with you, and a review with photographs at three months. If anything after a session worries you, call us the same day. Our patients review the clinic on review.clinic, where Ultherapy at our clinic holds 4.9 out of 5 from 49 reviews with 100% saying the treatment was worth it (November 2026).
Book a free consultation
Call Ultherapy London on 0207 043 8109 or use the form below. The clinician goes through your history and tells you plainly whether Ultherapy is safe for you. The full Ultherapy guide covers the rest.
