Seen At 11: Minimally Invasive Procedure Touted As 'Magic Wand' For Wrinkle Removal

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A magic wand that tightens loose skin and erases wrinkles from almost anywhere may sound too good to be true.

As CBS2's Dr. Max Gomez reported, a new thermal therapy procedure promises to do just that.

"I have four children, no matter how much exercise or dieting I still had those crinkles," Linda Kiesel said.

The crinkles Kiesel is referring to is the wrinkled skin on her stomach.

She felt a tummy tuck was too invasive, so instead Kiesel chose a minimally invasive procedure called 'thermi tight.'

"It's a tightening this way and a tightening that way," Dr. Barry DiBernardo said.

That's a simple explanation from DiBernardo, a New Jersey plastic surgeon, but it's also the actual result from the procedure.

"The thermi allows us to go under with a small probe that is emitting the radio frequency energy and measuring the temperature at the same time," he explained.

A tiny incision is made for the targeted area for tightening and the probe is inserted to heat the skin from below. An infrared heat scan shows its exact location.

"We're making cells in the skin called fiberblast, make more collagen, and elastin. Makes the skin more plump and tight," he said.

The results can be dramatic.

"You wanted smooth skin here, and smooth skin here, and this is all pretty tight," he explained.

After giving birth and nursing her daughter, Samantha Pena wanted a breast lift without the usual surgical scars.

"They weren't as full and they were definitely sagging. Not as perky as they should be being that I'm 26 years old," she said.

Pena had a similar procedure called thermi bra, which also uses radio frequency.

"This technique can get us a two to five centimeter lift in one hour with local anesthesia and no visible scars," Dr. DiBernardo said.

It works on other parts of the body as well. John DiBartolo had it to tighten his neck.

"After a week or two weeks you start seeing a difference," he said.

Lisa Zatta saw a big difference after she had the thermi procedure on her arms.

"Definitely a change," she said.

Dr. DiBernardo said it was the best technology available.

"What we needed to do with any device is get good skin tightening without surgery, so this today is our best skin tightening device," he explained.

Everyone CBS2 spoke to said there was minimal or no pain during or after the procedure, and no downtime. Depending on the area it can cost from $1,000 to $5,000.