Facial Fillers and Injectables - Coursework Example

Facial Fillers and Injectables If we wind back only twenty years on the timeline, getting rid of wrinkles, fine lines and sagging skin was not just problematic but also very challenging. It was not easy for everyone to delay the signs of aging. There was only one basic way named as face lift. Face lift required a good sum of money and was not in the reach of every woman who wanted to look young and beautiful. Though, things have changed drastically in the past few years. Now, getting rid of signs of aging is as easy as falling off a log. With the help of facial fillers and injectables, aging signs like crow’s feet, marionette lines, thinning lips and furrows between the brows can be removed in as less time as your lunch hour as well. Facial fillers require incredibly less time with no trauma of going through invasive surgery. Amusingly, doctors and plastic surgeons have started wondering that they may not be doing face-lifts at all in 20 years from now. Now, with the assistance of dermal fillers, you can restore youthful fullness to your face, enjoy lusciously plump lips and bade farewell to those fine wrinkles and facial creases. However, these dermal fillers cannot help a lot with extra sagging skin, but they can bring miraculous results in a short time with lesser pressure on your pocket than a face-lift surgery. Nevertheless, these injectables are not permanent and need to be maintained and repeated as recommended by the doctors. Your plastic surgeon will assess your need better and will recommend you one or a combination of treatments for your face to get hold of the desired results. How Dermal Fillers Work? When talking in detail about dermal filler, we noticed that they are segregated into two categories, which are Temporary and Semi-Permanent treatments. Temporary: Temporary treatments require your own body fat which is later injected to your face in order to avoid any risk of allergic reactions or rejection by the body. Using this technique, temporary treatments involve dermal filler like: 1. Collagen 2. Hyaluronic Acid 3. Calcium Hydroxylapatite 4. Polylactic Acid Semi-Permanent: Semi-permanent treatment includes PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate) fillers. This substance is considered semi-permanent because it can be removed as well. What are the Types of Dermal Fillers? The canvas of the dermal filler injectables have been made considerably extensive. After many researches and observations, many types of facial filler have come in the lead. These types of dermal fillers include: Juvederm: This is a filler surgeons use to fill and smooth moderate to severe wrinkles and folds. It is also useful to add volume to lift and contour the facial skin. Juvederm is basically made of hyaluronic acid which is a natural substance found in our body. Hyaluronic acid helps maintain body moisture and makes up much of the support structure of your skin. Restylane: This substance again contains hyaluronic acid but is generally used for moderate facial lines and wrinkles. Combined with Botox, Restylane is also used to prolong the life of the treatment and to enhance facial features. Perlane: Perlane is quite similar to Restylane however the only difference between the two is that the gel particles in Perlane are larger and hence are more effective. Perlane is used to fill fairly deeper folds and also in achieving facial fullness. It is widely used to enhance lips and for bringing volume to other facial areas. Radiesse: Radiesse is made up of calcium based microspheres balanced in a water-based gel but is not mixed with hyaluronic acid. Radiesse is the substance that helps in providing both immediate and long lasting results as it fuels the production of collagen and supports tissue regeneration. Doctors basically use it for smoothing nasolabial folds and marionette lines, for cheeks intensification and also for augmenting the depressed region below the eyes. Artefill: So far, artefill is the first and only substance approved by the FDA which is famous for its permanent results. It helps giving a permanent skin support system for long lasting wrinkle amendment. This explains that its results are both quick and long lasting. A substance named polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) is used in assembling this kind of facial filler. Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) has been used since decades in the cosmetic surgery field for implants. As this substance is not a natural ingredient, it carries some risks of allergic reaction on the patients’ skin. Sculptra: Sculptra is widely utilized for treatments of facial lipoatrophy. This include loss of fat underneath the skin for example depressed cheeks, indentation and hollow eyes. Poly-L-lactic acid is the main constituent of sculptra. This is a bio- compatible substance and is best because it does not hurt any surrounding tissues. However, sculptra does not show immediate results as it encourages collagen production because of which results emerge gradually in a few months. Autologous Fat: Autologous fat is a kind of fat extracted from one’s body and is then used to repair the damaged facial features. This sort of filler reduces the risk of allergic reactions or rejection by the body as it is extracted from the patient’s own tissues. In the case of autologous fat, not all the fat cells survive when transplanted into a new location. Because of this, doctors often overfill the site being treated resulting in slight temporarily swelling for a few days. (William J Lipham, 2008)4 What Happens During Facial Filler Injections? Evaluation: The first step in facial filler injections is the evaluation of your facial appearance. After paying attention to your desired results, your doctor will assess your facial form and your skin tone. Your doctor would keenly weigh up the areas of your face which need to be mended with the help of cosmetic facial filler. Mapping: Secondly, the doctor would plot strategic points on your face where he would inject the dermal filler. This procedure serves as a guide to apposite injection points for the facial filler. Cleansing the Region: Your doctor will then cleanse the sites where he needs to inject the dermal fillers. An antibacterial agent is used to serve the purpose. After the process of cleaning the area, a topical anesthetic agent would be utilized in order to numb the spot of injection. Many dermal fillers include an anesthetic agent in the mixture. Injection: Finally, the agent that would work for your skin treatment would be injected which would hardly take some seconds per site. This process gets lesser painful once you’ve been given a topical anesthetic agent. Cleaning and Icing: In the end, your marks would be generally washed away. You will also be provided an ice pack in order to quench any sort of minor and temporary irritation. You can definitely apply makeup on your skin now but any sort of pressure on the treated area is not recommended. Pressure on the treated area may cause the filler to be displaced. When treating deep scars and lines, multiple injections are required with the purpose of achieving the desired results. If the doctor suggests a deeper injection, you may be given a local anesthesia to cut down the pain. (Steven R Cohen; Trevor M Born, 2009)1 What are Some Special Considerations and Risks? As noticed, there is no laying back required after the treatment. You can recommence most of your actions immediately. One only has to take care as to not rub the treated points so that the filler is not repositioned. You may observe slight swelling or little bruising on the treated area but you must not worry as it would fade away within a few days. If you have chosen human fat filler, you may sense some over-filled look initially but this feeling disappears gradually in a few hours or in some cases, in a day. (David A Jansen, 2006)2 Complications in dermal filler injections are very rare, however some risks may involve: Acne Antibodies, or rejection of filler material, might lessen the usefulness of future injections Asymmetry Bleeding Bruising Fillers that contain microscopic granular substances, particularly, calcium hydroxylapatite, might cluster as a result of facial movement or your natural aging process. As time passes by, these clusters can take the shape of lumps or nodules. Surgery can help getting rid of the lumps. Infection at the injection site Itching Displacement of filler material away from the original site Necrosis (skin death) Redness Skin rash Skin sensitivity Swelling Temporary numbness Temporary paralysis of facial muscles Under- or over-correction of wrinkles In the Long Run: The principal is for the patient to understand that facial fillers are not permanent. Even some of the semi-permanent filler also face the need of re-treatments. Your skin never stops aging however these treatments only hide the signs of aging. If you choose not to take re-treatment of your skin, all the signs would come back to life. Wrinkles, fine lines and scars would return back to their places. Is a Dermal Filler Right for You? Dermal fillers can bring wonders to your facial skin but they cannot stop the process of aging. They can only put a pause to aging process. People who want permanent results may go for a face-lift, brow lift or an eye lift. If you are ready to take the treatments from time to time, dermal fillers would best suit you. Choosing the Right Surgeon: You can choose among a variety of plastic surgeons around town. You may also visit online referral service of American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) when looking for the most suitable plastic surgeon for your treatment. ASPS is the largest plastic surgeons organization around the globe and have the foremost authority on cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery. All the members of the ASPS organization are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Be Cautious: You must be very cautious when choosing your plastic surgeon because things can get dangerous if you end up in the wrong and inexperienced hands. You must look for a surgeon who is trained, qualified and experienced in field of plastic surgery. Also, make sure the surgeon has good experience when handling the dermal filler injectables. Although, you may be injected by another attendant at the plastic surgeon’s office, but you can relax because the attendant would be under close observation of the surgeon. (William Hanke, 2011)3 What would be the Cost for the Whole Dermal Filler Process? Cost of the dermal filler procedure may vary depending upon how qualified and experienced the plastic surgeon is. Apart from that, cost also depends upon the type of treatment you chose for, time and effort the treatment requires, and sometimes also the geographical site of the surgical clinic. Patient financing plans are also offered by many plastic surgeons so you may feel free to ask. Other fees may include: Surgical facility costs Anesthesia fees Prescriptions for medication You must inquire about the total fee structure before getting started with the dermal filler procedure. Your comfort with the plastic surgeon is the foremost point to consider. When choosing your plastic surgeon for dermal filler injections you must deliberate your desired results thoroughly. Talk to the surgeon. Try to create a comfort level with him or her. Once you are comfortable, you can get started with the procedure easily. Note: Cosmetic surgeries and their complications are not covered by most health insurance. Make sure you inquire your insurance provider about these services before the dermal filler procedure. What Questions Should You Ask Your Surgeon? Are you certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ASPS)? Were you specifically trained in the field of plastic surgery? Is the office-based surgical facility accredited by a nationally or state-recognized accrediting agency, or is it state-licensed or Medicare-certified? Do I require a dermal filler injectable? What will be expected of me to get the best results? Who will perform the dermal filler injections? Have they been specifically trained in this procedure? Where and how will you perform my facial filler treatment? What would be my expected recovery period? What are the risks and possible complications associated with my procedure? How can I expect to look over time? Do you have before-and-after photos I can look at for this procedure? What results are reasonable for me? References: 1. Cohen, Steven R., and Trevor M. Born. 2009. Facial rejuvenation with fillers. [Oxford]: Saunders. 2. Jansen, David A. 2006. Current trends in facial fillers. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier Saunders 3. Hanke, William. 2011. Facial soft-tissue fillers supplement. [New York]: Elsevier. 4. Lipham, William J., and William J. Lipham. 2008. Cosmetic and clinical applications of Botox and dermal fillers. Thorofare, NJ: SLACK. Read More