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Treatments to Replace Facial Muscle Loss or Bone Loss?

asked 3 years ago by joer in brooklyn, New York
Latest answer by Anil R. Shah, MD
Question viewed 1,927 times
Tags: restore

I keep hearing about injections such as Sculptra or Radiesse to treat volume loss in the face. What I don't hear mentioned is the fact that a great deal of this volume loss is due to shrinking facial muscle and (to a lesser extent) facial bone.

Is there anything on the market in the U.S. or abroad that can add volume to the facial muscles? If there isn't, how can plastic surgeons justify using Radiesse to "add volume" to the face without restoring the muscle underneath first? Won't a face look unusually fleshy when you plump up just the skin to compensate for lost muscle volume?

2 answers to Treatments to Replace Facial Muscle Loss or Bone Loss?

+1

Facial Muscle Loss and Bone Loss Treatments

Ideally the best treatment for a condition is the underlying cause.   Bone loss can be corrected with facial implants such as malar, chin or prejowl sulcus implants.  Radiesse, which is injectable bone, can be used for this purpose as well when placed directly ontop of the bone.   Muscle loss is not as commonly discussed.  One reason is that the muscles of the face are typically thin and sheet like and different than those found on the limbs of the human body.... more
Anil R. Shah, MD

Chicago Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

Compensating for muscle atrophy makes sense but is difficult to achieve

You insight is very keen. Yes the radiesse or other fillers are generally used to compensate for soft tissue loss and occasionally bony loss. Use of facial implants is another method to compensate for bony loss. Muscle atrophy and bulk are difficult to restore. Many claims for electrical stimulation or facial exercises have been made but never truly proven to be practical. In many ways repetitive muscle contraction may result in increased wrinkles. Therefore, we often use Botox to cease... more
Otto Joseph Placik, MD

Chicago Plastic Surgeon

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