Facial Fillers
Non-Surgical Procedures
Facial Fillers
If you’d like to restore youthful fullness to your face, enjoy plump lips, enhance shallow contours or soften those facial creases and wrinkles, dermal fillers may be the answer. Dermal fillers have been called “liquid facelifts” because they offer many of the benefits of a surgical facelift without the downtime.
Although they can’t help with excess sagging skin, these soft tissue fillers can add more volume and provide immediate results at a lower cost than surgery. These treatment aren’t permanent, however, and they must be repeated and maintained.
Some dermal fillers are used in conjunction with other skin rejuvenation treatments such as injections of botulinum toxin. Your plastic surgeon will assess your needs and recommend one or a combination of treatments to achieve your desired results.
Dr. Hisaka uses hydroxyapatite and hyaluronic acid products like Radiesse, Perlane, Restylane, and various forms of Juvaderm. These could be subject to change as the products are reformulated.
Fillers are best used for the lines in between the eyes, nasolabial folds, troughs underneath the eyes, lifting the midface at the cheekbone level, lifting the corners of the mouth, and folds around the chin (marionette lines). He also supplements his facial procedures by using fat taken from areas where they have excess (abdomen) and reinjecting the fat into the areas of the face were there is volume deficiency.
What To Expect
Human fat, also known as autologous fat, is harvested from your own body. Using your own fat requires a more extensive procedure than other injectable fillers because you first must undergo liposuction to extract the fat prior to injection. You eliminate the risk of allergic reaction or rejection by the body by using your own fat. You should know that not all of the live fat cells survive when transplanted into a new site. You can expect a fairly high rate of re-absorption. Because of this, your doctor will likely overfill the area being treated. At first you might look abnormal, but it will soon settle and you’ll enjoy a new look. When your doctor extracts this fat via liposuction, it’s possible that there will be more than is needed for one application. Most natural fat can be stored for touch-ups.
- Collagen is a natural substance known as a protein, and the main component in cartilage, teeth and bones. It is derived either from human skin or cows (known as bovine collagen). Brand names include: CosmoDerm, Cosmoplast, Zyderm, Zyplast.
- Human cadaveric dermis is skin that’s cultivated from a cadaver, then injected into your face. This substance results in particularly impressive filling of facial hollows. Brand names include: Cymetra, Dermalogen, Fascian.
- Hyaluronic acid is also a natural substance found in your body. High concentrations are found in soft connective tissue and in the fluid surrounding your eyes. It’s also in some cartilage and joint fluids, as well as skin tissue. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because the same substance is often injected into the aching joints of people with arthritis to ease pain by providing extra cushioning. Hyaluronic acid is not derived from animal sources. Brand names include: Captique, Esthélis, Elevess, Hylaform, Juvéderm, Perlane, Prevelle, Puragen and Restylane.
- Calcium hydroxylapatite, the heaviest of facial fillers, is found naturally in human bones. This mineral-like compound is reserved to fill the deepest creases such as nasolabial folds, marionette lines and frown lines. It’s also used to enhance fullness of the cheeks and other facial contours. Calcium-based microspheres are suspended in a water-based gel. Brand names include: Radiesse, Radiance.