Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
Non Surgical Options for Facial Rejuvenation
By John D. Verghese, M.D.
There are a multitude of options for facial rejuvenation now available. Surgery has long been considered the gold standard for reversing the aging process but new technologies have emerged as an alternative to the scalpel. There are three major categories of facial techniques: neurotoxins (freeze), dermal fillers (fill) and cytolytics (melt). Neurotoxin is the scientific category for the popular Botox. What that means is Botox temporarily relaxes the muscles in the face so the overlying skin doesn’t move. When the skin doesn’t move then wrinkles don’t form. This allows for a smooth and youthful look. It is especially effective for the forehead, glabella (area between the eyebrows or the 11’s) and the crow’s feet around the eyes. The effect is not permanent but generally lasts for 3-4 months. The procedure is very quick and consists of a few injections with a tiny needle. The results can be seen in about 3-5 days. Although Botox was the first FDA approved neurotoxin there are several others available today. They include Dysport and Xeomin and each offer safe and reliable results.
The other category is called dermal fillers. These products are injected under the skin and replace the volume lost due to aging and achieve a more youthful look. There are a variety of products available and many different applications that are not only limited to the face. Dermal fillers are especially helpful for the nasolabial folds (groove between nose and corner of mouth) and marionette lines (groove from corner of mouth to chin). Those products include Juvederm, Restylane, and Radiesse. Also popular is plumping up the lips to add volume and fullness to otherwise thin lips. We take extra care not to overfill and create an unnatural or fake look. The results are immediate with minimal side effects of possibly some temporary minor swelling. In addition we can correct the fine lines found above the lip (smoker’s lines) with a product called Belotero. Another area to address is the cheek bones (malar eminence). Voluma is a dermal filler which plumps up the cheeks eliminating that hollowed out look which tends to develop with age or weight loss. The higher and fuller cheeks produce a healthy youthful look. Not only are fillers used for the face but they can be used on the tops of the hands to volumize the loose skin which is a tell tale sign of aging. These injections are done quickly in the office with minimal discomfort as all the products contain lidocaine, a numbing medicine, to make the experience more comfortable. The effects are also long lasting, ranging from 1 to 2 years.
The final and most recent category is cytolytics. Kybella is a product which actually breaks down the fats cells (cytolysis) and then your body absorbs the cells permanently. Fat cells are unique in that unless they are physically removed, such as in liposuction, or broken down , as with Kybella, they will never go away. With weight loss they shrink in size but never disappear. The area that we target with Kybella is under the chin. This eliminates the double chin or turkey gobble. Previously the only was to get rid of that pesky fat was surgical liposuction. Now we have noninvasive Kybella to melt the fat away. The procedure is very quick and simple involving a few injections with just some minor swelling afterwards. The best thing about Kybella is that the results are permanent. The fat cells are destroyed and your body absorbs them, never to return.
There are several options now available in order to help reverse the aging process. Many of these new techniques can also be combined with each other to achieve the look you desire. I provide all these new techniques as well as complete traditional plastic surgery options. Call today for a complimentary consultation to determine what is best for you and let your body match your spirit.
Keys Plastic Surgery
Naples Office
9975 Tamiami Trail N Suite 4, Naples, FL 34108
Phone 239-260-1139, Fax 239-260-1136
Marathon Office
10095 Overseas Highway Marathon, FL 33050
Phone 305-289-1975, Fax 305-289-1976
Key West Office
1111 12th St Suite 312 Key West ,FL 33040
Phone 305-292-9899, Fax 305-289-1976
