“Fantastic results with radiesse”

I am a 48 year old male with good skin and just a minimal amount of wrinkles and some slackening of the skin. After having Juvederm injected into the tear troughs (which looks amazing) I wanted to take care of the beginning of naso-labial folds (one side was more pronounced than the other. Although my PS initially thought there was enough wrinkling to worry about, he did suggest having Radiesse placed in the cheeks and in the naso-labial folds together to produce optimum results.

The results are fantastic and I am so happy with the results. Between the Juvederm and Radiesse, it has taken 10 years off my face. There was no bruising, very minimal swelling (I went out to dinner with friends 6 hours after I had it done) and no problems with the Radiesse itself.

I came back to this site to write a review because I think too many people who have had successful results forget to come back to post a positive review. But if something goes wrong, those people are sure to post a negative one. So the percentage of Satisfied/Unsatisfied may be greatly skewed.

I want to address the people who are thinking about injectables in general. I'm STUNNED that people here have not done any homework and WORSE--they go to a "spa" or have a nurse or regular M.D. do the work. I researched injectables for almost a year before having anything done. I checked every website, read all the precautions and then went about finding the best PS I could find to do the work. I checked the recommendations at the sites of the producers of Radiesse and Juvederm for referrals, I checked the "Best Plastic Surgeons of NY" book, and even checked up on my PS's reputation in the community. After 10 months of research I was ready to go with it. I'm glad I did the research, because it made for a success that even surpassed my own goals.

These are some things to consider with Radiesse:

1. It is very heavy material, and it has a harder consistency. It's good for frequent-use lines (like around the mouth) but every reputable PS will tell you NEVER to use it around the eyes, because it is too heavy and will sink.

2. The success of your treatment is all in the hands of your PS. I found a PS who not only has more than 5000 injections under his belt, he also teaches other doctors in the correct procedures for injecting fillers. He also is ONLY a PS--his entire business is minimally invasive procedures, and injectables is the core of his entire practice. If you try to save a few dollars and go to somebody who doesnt understand the aesthetics of the face, you will not be happy with the results.

3. Understand what kind of skin you have BEFORE you consider fillers, because the thickness of your skin is the decider of what fillers you should use. I have thick skin, so a heavy filler like Radiesse was a plus. If I had thinner skin, I would probably stay with something more soft like Juvederm for the naso -labial lines.

4. Ask questions--plenty of them. Don't be afraid to ask the hard questions of your PS like "how many times have you used this product" and "what percentage of your patients were unhappy with the results", and "what did you specialize in during your residency," and "can you give me the name of a patient who recently had this done so I can ask them about their experience?" If they waver, find another PS.

I'm really so sorry to read some of the tragic stories on here, but I think many of them could have been avoided with research and not making foolish decisions (like going to a spa to have work done on your face!) I have had such a good experience, that I wanted to share it so that people reading this site will not just see unhappy testimonials. The fillers far exceeded what I hoped they would do. I wish all of you very good luck!