Aging, gravity, sun damage, and other factors can wreak havoc on the skin. Underlying tissues that work hard to keep your skin looking young and alive, start to break down as we grow older. Laugh lines and smile lines which used to disappear, start to become permanent. Crow's feet and other facial lines and wrinkles start to appear permanently in areas where facial muscles do the most work. This can all make one look tired and old.
Hope is not lost however. A wide array of treatments are available at New England Plastic Surgical Associates for wrinkles and fine lines. From injections such as Botox, Restylane, Juvederm and others to various peels, microdermabrasion, Retin A and other topical treatments, we will help guide you in choosing the most effective, safest options that fit your active lifestyle. Through the use injectable fillers and/or fat injections Dr. Volpe can fill in these unsightly lines, and creases to help you have younger, smoother looking skin. When injected by an expert, these fillers can add fullness to the lips and cheeks, and reduce or erase those unsightly lines and wrinkles.
Fillers
Wrinkles, depressions and depressed scars can often be treated non-surgically with accurate placement of a filler injection – effects are immediate. Fillers can reshape flattened lips and also be a very good alternative to facial implants for enhancing cheek bones and jaw lines. We even can use fillers to help with irregularities on the nose. Safe, effective and time tested, the most frequently used are the hyaluronic gels (Restylane, Juvederm, Perlane), Radiesse, and Sculptra. Several new ones are pending FDA approval. Most are available with a small amount of lidocaine, a numbing agent, mixed in. Filler treatments- easily tolerated, effective, convenient. No wonder that fillers have become one of the most widely popular of all cosmetic treatments.
Filler injections are noted to be temporary as effects lessen with time. However, we are able to achieve some semi-permanent results depending on your skin type. Another good option for some is fat injections. Varying amounts of fat can be aspirated with a syringe from the buttock or other regions and injected elsewhere. Fat transfers work wonderfully for reshaping the cheekbone area offering a lifelong result.
Hyaluronic Gel Fillers
One of the most exciting developments in cosmetic treatments over the past decade has been the availability of hyaluronic gel fillers. Effects can last months to years. These gels are produced from hyaluronic acid, a naturally occurring material that is found in many places in our body and is one of the major components of the skin's connective tissue. Its water-loving makeup attracts and binds water molecules to help restore volume and fullness to the skin, smoothing lines and wrinkles. Known for their smoothness, these gel-like fillers (Perlane, Juvederm, Restylane and others) have combined efficacy, safety and long-lasting results in the war on wrinkles.
Restylane®
Restylane has become one of the most popular fillers that I use. It is relatively thinner than some of the other hylauronic gels and I find it superior in the treatment of finer lines. It is especially effective around the corners of the mouth, around the lips, and the nasolabial “marionette lines” from the nose to the corners of your mouth. It is also a very effective lip filler- I find it superb for shaping lips and avoiding the overfilled look.
Juvéderm Ultra™, Perlane®
Juvéderm Ultra and Perlane deliver a bit more volumizing effect than Restylane. These fillers, especially Juvéderm Ultra Plus have chemical crosslink bonds that delay the breakdown of these by the body’s enzymes. A bit thicker, they last a bit longer and can provide lasting enhanced cheekbones and correction of wrinkles.
Radiesse
Radiesse Volumizing Filler is another filler that has great usage in providing volume and fill. Its effects can be very long-lasting, and like the hyaluronic gels, it can stimulate the growth of your own natural collagen. It is composed of calcium microspheres in a hydrogel carrier, and is mixed with a local anesthetic. Radiesse can be an ideal choice when looking for deeper filler especially around the cheek bones although there are numerous other applications.
Fat Injection
Sallow cheeks, deflated lips? The synthetic fillers are wonderfully convenient and effective but improvements fade with time. Fat transfers to the face, though, can provide a cost effective large volume permanent solution. Fat is taken from somewhere else on the body, treated, and re-injected in the face. Common areas include the cheeks, lips and outer brow region. Injected fat is quite a bit thicker than the above synthetic fillers and therefore not as useful for superficial fine lines of the face. The microdroplets of fat injected do re-establish circulation in the area receiving the fat and has the advantage of being truly natural to your body. Because some of the fat transferred is lost in the process; usually 2-3 treatments are necessary for best results.
