Dalphene Index

Thermage — FDA clearance record and published evidence

Solta Medical · RF & Microneedling · Monopolar RF skin tightening

510(k) · cleared510(k)A submission in which a company shows the FDA that its device works much like a device already legally on sale, so the company does not have to prove the whole thing over from scratch.Class IIClass IIThe FDA's middle-risk group, which is where most aesthetic lasers, energy devices and fillers sit, and which normally reaches the market through the 510(k) route.K173759K-numberThe reference the FDA stamps on a 510(k) submission, written like K123456, which is how you pull up the exact record for a device.
Pathway510(k) · cleared
ClassII
First cleared2000
Years on market26
Studies432
Trials9

A 510(k) device is cleared, not approved — a different route, not a lesser one.

Compare with similar TempSure Volnewmer Agnes RF Compare all 4 →

Shares treatment areas — not a recommendation.

Overview

ModalityModalityA family of treatments that work the same way — such as radiofrequency microneedling, or lasers that leave the skin surface intact — rather than any one branded machine.
Monopolar RF skin tightening
Manufacturer
Solta Medical
Category
RF & Microneedling
Latest decision
FDA records
16
MappingCrosswalkThe mapping this site keeps between records that no single source links up, such as tying a brand name to the FDA codes and the study searches that describe the same thing.
Verified

Mapping is the weakest link on this page; the rule is published.

Regulatory

Identifiers on file, copied from the openFDA response. Each links to its FDA public record.
IdentifierTypeRoleFDA record
K000944510(k) — clearedOpen →
K003183510(k) — clearedOpen →
K013639510(k) — clearedOpen →
K021402510(k) — clearedOpen →
K033942510(k) — clearedOpen →
K040135510(k) — clearedOpen →
K043402510(k) — clearedOpen →
K051710510(k) — clearedOpen →
K052778510(k) — clearedOpen →
K053365510(k) — clearedOpen →
K052936510(k) — clearedOpen →
K072849510(k) — clearedOpen →
K090580510(k) — clearedOpen →
K132431510(k) — clearedOpen →
K170758510(k) — clearedOpen →
K173759510(k) — clearedPrimaryOpen →
FDA product codes on the matched records.
CodeFDA device name21 CFR
GEIElectrosurgical, Cutting & Coagulation & Accessories878.4400

Cleared indication: not transcribed here — read it on K173759 →

EUDAMEDEUDAMEDThe European Union's public database where devices and their makers are listed, so an entry there records that a device exists in the European system and is not any kind of approval or clearance.Also registered in the EU
Listed as
Thermage FLX System
Manufacturer
Solta Medical, Inc.
Basic UDI-DIBasic UDI-DIThe European reference for a whole family of devices that share the same purpose and design, so several sizes or models sit under one of these.
081699502B0014WD
UDI-DIUDI-DIThe European reference for one specific model, size or configuration of a device.
00816995020639
Risk classRisk classEurope's own risk grouping for devices, which runs from I to III and does not line up one-to-one with the FDA's classes.
Class I
Status in EUDAMED
On the market

Registered in EUDAMED, the EU device database. A registration, not an approval.

Evidence

Counted for the modality, never the brand.

432PubMed, all time
293PubMed, 10y
9Studies
1Recruiting
Monopolar RF skin tightening — PubMed records per year, 2016–2026 (2026 partial)
Monopolar RF skin tightening
201625
201719
201818
201920
202027
202131
202237
202326
202437
202558
202636
58papers · 2025 · modality, not brand+57%

PubMed counts publications; ClinicalTrials.gov counts registrations. Neither is a quality score.

What that literature is made of

By publication type · all years

All records on this querythe set every row below is drawn from432
Systematic review / meta-analysis1.9% of the total8
Randomised controlled trial7.4% of the total32
Clinical trial (any type)18.5% of the total80
Review19.4% of the total84
Case report4.2% of the total18
Monopolar RF skin tightening — PubMed records by publication type, all years
PubMed records
All records on this query432
Systematic review / meta-analysis8
Randomised controlled trial32
Clinical trial (any type)80
Review84
Case report18

Each row is one publication typePublication typeThe label the literature index attaches to a paper to say what kind of work it is, which is assigned by the index rather than by this site., and the rows overlap: PubMed explodes Clinical trial, so it already contains the randomised trials, and the systematic-review subset intersects Review. They do not sum to the total. Bar length is the count against this modality's own query total; rows are in the order the source file defines them, not by size.

What each modality's PubMed total is made of, by publication type. Counting study types is not a quality assessment.

PubMed query, verbatim

("monopolar radiofrequency"[tiab] OR "radiofrequency tightening"[tiab] OR ("radiofrequency"[tiab] AND "skin laxity"[tiab]) OR ("radiofrequency"[tiab] AND "skin tightening"[tiab])) AND (skin[tiab] OR cutaneous[tiab] OR face[tiab] OR facial[tiab])

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ClinicalTrials.gov query, verbatim

intervention: ("monopolar radiofrequency" OR "radiofrequency skin tightening") condition: ("skin laxity" OR wrinkles OR skin OR rejuvenation OR cellulite)

Run it →

Treatment areas

What matched, and where
AreaMatched termSource string
Wrinkles & lineswrinkleClinicalTrials.gov condition query for Monopolar RF skin tightening
Skin laxityskin laxityClinicalTrials.gov condition query for Monopolar RF skin tightening
Photoaging & rejuvenationrejuvenationClinicalTrials.gov condition query for Monopolar RF skin tightening
CellulitecelluliteClinicalTrials.gov condition query for Monopolar RF skin tightening

Derived by keyword rule, not the cleared or approved indication.

Sources

No adverse-event data is published anywhere on this site.