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Did you like Sculptra for wrinkles or sunken cheeks?

By HollyBell2 on 07 Feb 2007

Is sculptra the best choice for deep wrinkles and sunken cheeks or is it overkill?  sculptra is soooo expensive and appears to require lots of injections (I'm guessing this means pain too!!!).

Comments (66)

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(unregistered guest) 9 Feb 2007
Does anyone have any advice on the use of sculptera for under eye circles? Im interested in other peoples experiances, good/bad results?
houstnboy 3 Jul 2009
I you want bumps instead of circles, then scuptra is the way to go. Otherwise, look for something else besides Sculptra. It is horrible!
trisha333 20 Aug 2011
Sculptra is a fine procedure, if used correctly and administered by a knowledgeable physician. I do not feel it is a good idea to put in under the eyes. If you look on their website you will see that it is meant for the folds near the nose, cheeks and to create fullness along the chin area. You should NOT get any bumps if you following the doctor's advice and massage injection area for 5 min./5x/5days. Take homeopathic Arnica before and after if you bruise easily. I had my first injection 4 days ago and I look completely normal. I used ice the first day and am still doing my massage. It is NOT horrible!!
tee1214 (unregistered guest) 30 Mar 2007
Im really interested in sculptra.I've had several peels in the past, which has made some what of an improvement. However, I still have a slight hollow appearence around my cheeks. I would like to get some feedback on someone who had this procedure done.Is it worth the money?
Janet J. Kutsch 24 Apr 2008
Hi! I just posted my comments on this site, so be sure to read them. I think Sculptra could definitely improve that slight hollow appearance and you wouldn't need as many injections as I did. Jan Kutsch
katee 30 May 2008
Hi there,i have had three rounds of sculptra and i have been left with big lumps under my eyes,no matter how i massage them there is no movement.Take my advice do not go near it,i wish i had never read about the stuff it has ruined my life,and i will not go outside the door with the embarrassment of the lumps.
Sandchic 30 May 2008
Katee - I had the same thing happen to me. Lucky for me my derm is doing everything she can to help me. First thing my derm did was zap these bumps with the V-beam laser. My derm did this twice, four weeks apart. This significantly softened the bumps. Approx. 3 weeks ago, my derm used the Fraxel laser under my eyes and this made them significantly smaller. My derm is going to do another round with the Fraxel laser at the end of June & hopefully get rid of these horrible bumps for good. I hope this helps you and gives you a possible solution!
BellaMarie 26 Mar 2012
please tell me if you noticed a volume difference after your 2nd session of sculptra? ive only had 2 sessions and am scared to death to have a 3rd.. b/c I have started to read more about the bad affects of sculptra..

also when did the bumps appear? and how are they now? since its been 4 years?
Sophie guest (unregistered guest) 9 May 2007
Remember, any MD can watch a DVD and ram sculptra into your face the next hour. There is no certification for most of these non surgical procedures. The doc that treated me {edited} in MA placed an entire bottle of sculptra under one eye!! I have 4 large lumps under my eye that {edited} states is scar tissue and needs surgical removal. Sculptra is approved for folks with AIDS, it is specifically (read the package insert) not approved for the periorbital region. Most of the docs out there are looking to make big money, your money. It isn't worth the risk. If you have a FACS Plastic Surgeon or dermatologist that you have worked with and trust has significant experience with dermal fillers, go for it. If you read an advertisement in the paper by your local otolaryngtologist or opthamologist, run for your health in the opposite direction. Editor note: you must join RealSelf so you can be contacted privately with doctor recommendations and feedback. This requires free registration for an account. When registering you must opt-in to receiving private contacts (a check box).
Susan Power (unregistered guest) 31 Mar 2008
I have found after asking doctor whom I trust this simple question: what website do they trust for their medical questions/research and it is free and available to the consumer. The answer is pubmed. Go on this site and get sick to your stomach as I did. National Lib. of Med. (perhaps tax payer supportered supportered.)
JoJo (unregistered guest) 15 May 2007
I had 3 vial of sculptra in cheeks, under eyes, around mouth, pretty good results 1 year and counting,did get a small lump by corner of mouth but had kenelog injection to reduce it, I am overall happy with sculptra would reccommend! paid 3k in all*
BellaMarie 26 Mar 2012
did your bump ever go away ? when did u first notice the bump? did u masasge intially ?
Sophie guest (unregistered guest) 10 Jun 2007
Sculptra is NOT supposed to be used under the eyes or in the nasal folds. Are you sure you didn't go to {edited} in Danvers MA???? She is the kind of freak who would inject 3 vials into someones face. Editor note: you must join RealSelf so you can be contacted privately with doctor recommendations and feedback. This requires free registration for an account. When registering you must opt-in to receiving private contacts (a check box).
Donna (unregistered guest) 17 Jun 2007
Started Scultra in March 2007 for deep lines and hollow cheeks. The first round was $1K but I was lucky in that I was selected for a trial. In May I had 1 treatment ($250). It is now June and I am beginning to notice improvement in the lines & hollow areas of cheeks. My husband and daughter have noticed as well. I have a great dermatologis who is very careful the procedure. I had the 3rd treatment ($300) this week and will return in August for another treatment. I reported to my dermatologist this week that I notice improvement in my hair (very coarse - appears to be softening). Also I have battled a dry cracked foot for 26 years. Suddenly the foot is almost smooth. She has not had or seen any reports of these types. Could be conincidental.
guest (unregistered guest) 12 Jul 2007
I recently had sculptra. The procedure has not enhanced me at all; it has in fact been disastrous for me. I asked the doctor if there is anything to remove it and he said no. Yet I read in this blog that someone did in fact get it removed. Can you confirm this.
Suzy Q 17 Feb 2008
Only way that works is to have sculptra removed surgically as I had to do.
joanne-d (unregistered guest) 13 Jul 2007
sculptra in face + juvederm in lips I had sculptra done recently. I had tight skin which was admittedly thin, and only wanted and requested for one or two very fine lines filled with restyline. This is what I had had before (with another doctor) and which had worked well. I had a taut jaw line, high cheekbones and hollows under my cheeks which I liked. In expressing my concerns and reservations regarding this sculptra being for folds of which I had none I was sidelined and my fears were ignored. I have a lump of restyline which has lasted more thn two years in the forehead area injected by a dermatologist, and I have shown this to the doctor so he was aware that because of my history the less fill for me the better, and for this reason I reqeusted a minimal mount of fill for the top lip. He chose to over fill and of his own reasoning did both lips. The sculptra has left my one very acceptable face a mess; in a word ruined. I specifically told the doctor that I did not want my cheeks filled that I in fact liked them. He was not listening. He has taken away from me any looks I had. I now look twenty years older and twenty pounds heavier. I now have folds and large raised lumps in my cheeks. My jaw line also has lumps which make me look as if I have growths coming out of my jaw on either side (worse on the one side). Reputedly a doctor of standing he was not big enough/unable to admit to these awful results saying he had taken more time to explain this to me than he had for anyone else. He bascially told me the risk was small bumps! If only... These large lumps and much excess in the cheeks has only served to diminish any attractiveness I had. Combining this treatment he also overfilled both my lips (I only wanted the top one minimially filled). My mouth is so bulging I can not close it without my lips being pushed (puckered), and here too much fill has has created folds, and I now look as if I have buck teeth. If my lips were thinnish before at least they were even. Now the one side is thicker and more uplifted so my mouth and smile are now lop sided. Too much fill actually prevents me smiling without strange lines and folds forming. His excuse on this was that it can never be exactly the same each side. It was before. In examining me (in a very dimly lit room with one bulb in the ceiling and blinds shuttered down) he just refused to acknowledge these raised lumps. That three people have actually commented to me (unasked for) about these same strange lumps makes me wonder... The puffiness and in turn folds and indents have really changed my looks, and I have truly lost any confidence I had. The results are for me disastrous. The two fine lines I actually did want filled are now clearly visibly, along with a few more lines which are a direct result of too much fill and folds, indents and raised lumps being formed. I look very different and regrettably not for the better. This has affected me professionally and personally; my heart sinks to even look in the mirror. The doctor has said there is no removing agent for the sculptra and that he does not know how the juvederm dissolving agent works. My face (each person's face) is worth mopre than the few thousand dollars paid, no matter it is still a lot of money. But to take someone's money for ruining their looks seems more than unjust! In retrospect my research and reservations were apt. These were brushed aside as well as my telling the doctor specifically that I did not want my cheeks filled. He ignored my wants and fears, and still is not (capable of?) listening. This website has taught me a lot. I wish I'd known of it prior to having had this done. I have no choice but to live with it (his words of consolation to me). Yes, I have to live with it, but it's hard for me to show my face. I look very different, and not in an enhancing way. It is as if I have paid to have my looks marred. I would do anything to have my original face back. This not only looks like a "bad job", but because of the excess folds it now looks as if I should have somthing done to remove all the excess. I only know my skin was thin but taut and if I looked thin well I am thin, and that was never a complaint or issue for me. Advice; Find a good doctor capable of listening, and read this website before having anything done!!!
CHAR (unregistered guest) 13 Jan 2008
i was so sorry to hear that someone else had experienced my nightmare. my doctor, too, injected me without my permission. i had said to him that one side of my face was smaller than the other...i asked him to correct it, and he injecterd both sides...i now look like a watermelon. aside from this, he injected juvederm under my eyes in august, resulting in large bags under my eyes...which i never had..he tried the anectdote that he promised would work, and fivr months later i have just received two treatments to remove the liquid...it is still there. i design jewelry and will be appearing on television...not happy. i went to my classs reunion...not happy. summer vacation....same. have you found any way to get rid of the excess sculptra...amything you know would be appreciated. thanks, char
Suzy Q 17 Feb 2008
I can sympathise with you as sculptra for me was an absolute disaster. It caused me nothing but hours of angst, tears, discomfort and not least of all was an aesthetic disaster with visible rock hard lumps in rows across my top lip and each side of my chin! It cost me thousands of dollars in consultations and treatments with numerous doctors. I eventually found a dermatologist and plastic surgeon who listened to the fact that I wanted the lumps removed (after exhausting all other less invasive treatments!). If the earlier doctors had listened to me from the beginning and removed the lumps surgically as requested it would have saved me thousands of dollars in useless treatment! The only winners here were the doctors!
k westbury 2 Oct 2008
I empathize with your experience. I too had an overfill of Sculptra after telling my doctor I did NOT want fill. In fact, she characterized the effect of Sculptra as "skin thickening". The injections were expensive and completely changed- and took away- my looks. My face no longer looks like my face. It is embarrassing and demoralizing.I consulted another doctor and called the manufacturer and was told there is no way to get rid of it. With my face, it also added lines and folds along with chipmunk cheeks. I look ten years older. This was all totally unnecessary. When I reviewed my file, and before and after photos with my doctor, she defended all this by saying I may have had a slight slight jowling before treatment. I don't think so, but anyway I wouldn't have chosen to ruin the rest of my face to correct that! Yes, consumer,beware.
k.c gagnon 14 Dec 2008
My first treatment of Sculptra went beautifully. The P.S looked at my pictures, and did the appropriate correction. I saw him 7 weeks later for the second treatment - what a disaster. He overfilled, and admitted as such. I didn't even recognize myself when I left his office - I looked like I was severely beaten, bruised, and swollen. And then before I left his office, he said to me this is "where we want to go". Nice cover - not. His staff when I left couldn't even look at me when I booked the follow-up. My point - don't blame the patient for not massaging if things go wrong. I have massaged 5 times a day for 10 minutes each time for the last nine weeks. I will continue for the next 5 months or more doing the same because I was overcorrected. It was not my choice or wish - he was an experienced P.S. but chose to do this. My advice, massage hard, 10 minutes, 5 times a day, for the next several weeks. And do anything initially which will hopefully diffuse the product.
BellaMarie 26 Mar 2012
how long did it take you to lookover filled? Ive had 2 sessions of sculptra and am scared to death to have a 3rd after reading the horriable effects.. i jsut had my 2nd session a few weeks ago.. everyting seems okay for now. please reply
Dru11 26 Mar 2012
My advice, for what it is worth is do not get anymore for at least several months. the stuff kept growing for months. But mine was done improperly by a board certified PS. The stuff works for a long time so just sit tight and see what happens for the next 6 months. you can always get more but you can not remove it.
trisha333 26 Mar 2012
I have had NO problems with Sculptra. I know it seems a lot of people here have had some bad results but I had a very knowledgeable dermatologist do the injections and followed all the required aftercare. It is very important to massage the area 5/5/5 (five minutes, five times, for five days) after the injections. I had no bumps, whatsoever. After the 3 recommended injections over a period of approx. 5 mos. I do look filled out, not overfilled. I am 66 yrs. old and look ten yrs. younger. I've only had Sculptra and a few injections of Juvederm around the lip and nose area. Sculptra should only be used around the cheek, nose (nasal folds) and jawline and never any place where the skin is thin (under eyes). If you are doing it right you should have no problems.
trisha333 26 Mar 2012
I need to edit my comment. Sculptra should only be used around the jawline and cheek hollows.

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