Fillers Don't Seem to Work to Volumize my Face?

You may want to consider Volume or Volift (juvederm products) that are thicker in consistency for better volume enhancement.

     No fat for fat grafting - how lucky.  I have never seen Radiesse disappear in three days.  Other fillers can be tried to assess response, like some of the HA derivatives.

Sorry to hear about the issue you are experiencing. Don't give up hope, there are other options available for adding volume to the face. One great option is Sculptra. It works very well to restore fullness to the face.  It is not a real filler, it is an injectable suture.  That being said, it is not as predictable as a filler. It causes irritation of the dermis and collagen formation. The collagen regeneration takes time, and it is not quick like a filler. Usually, multiple treatments are necessary to get the desired result.

 

Another option you may want to consider is a vampire facelift. For this procedure, we use PRP, or platelet rich plasma. We take some of your blood and spin it down into a centrifuge. We then get the plasma, which has the platelets in it. We remove and discard the red blood cells, and are left with a yellow serum that has all the growth factors. The serum has all the great factors of blood, plus the platelets, which stimulate everything to grow inside, such as the collagen, or angiogenesis. This makes new blood vessels and is great for your skin. You can then inject the PRP into the face, just underneath the skin. Over time, you can get around 10-15% more volume in your face, which can last a few years. It takes about 8 weeks to see. The procedure also gives you a better glow. It helps with your pores and your blemishes, and it gives you overall healthier looking skin.

While your cheeks are full from the PRP injection (cheeks will be full for four or five hours), we also take filler, and will put that in the cheeks and lower eyes. The filler is injected through the same little cannula (hole). The filler will remain for six or seven months. Overall, everything is performed in one procedure that typically only lasts an hour. I think you would be very happy with the result! Please feel free to ask me any specific questions and I would be happy to answer them for you.

Dear loneskate,


For volume without adequate fat supply, you should look into Sculptra

I love doing fat transfer injections, and usually avoid Sculptra because of the results I can get with fat

There is a small population of patients (those without adequate fat) that would benefit from Sculptra

Be patient because depending on how much volume you want, it could take multiple sessions


Best regards,

Nima Shemirani

This is a common issue with many patients. as of your low weight for your height, fat transfer may not be a viable option for you. I don't think the radiese disappeared, but rather that more radiese needs to be added. Unfortunately, this gets expensive, but it is the only option for some patients.

Although it would be impossible for Radiesse to disappear in 3 days, I suppose it could disappear in several months. Other potential options would be use of facial cheek implants, but without photos and/or an exam it would not be possible to tell if you are a good candidate.

Good facial volume adds to a youthfull look. Consider malar or submalar implants . These will be permanent and can give substantial volume to the cheeks . Its often a great way to enhance your facelift results. Good luck

Putting more volume in the face generally does help with making the face look younger.  I understand that you don't have enough fat to use for fat transfer, but I think you have some other options.  First of all, I think that most likely the Radiesse you had did not disappear after 3 days.  It is most likely still there and it may be that you just needed more of it.  The other option would be to try a different filler.  You could use Restylane or Juvederm, but the results would be fairly temporary.  I would recommend trying Sculptra to see if you get a better result.  This would require doing several treatment sessions to get the desired result however.  And of course, gaining more weight would not hurt either.

Radiesse is great for spot filling and increasing definition, but for general volume it is not what I would recommend.  With no fat to graft, I would recommend Sculptra which works as a diffuse soft tissue enhancer.  Usually 3 injection sessions are required- doing it just once will unlikely help so you need to be committed to the process. 

For volumizing, my favorite method for cases such as yours is Sculptra,
that can, with two to as many as four treatments, provide a nice amount
of filling into the areas that lack volume.