I'm a 45 year old woman. My doctor recommended 16 vials of sculptra for me to get best results. Is this normal or excessive?

I haven't ever injected 16 vials of Sculptra in a patient, so the amount seems excessive to me.  It is not uncommon to require 6-8 vials in a patient who is in their 60's or 70's over a 2-4 month period.  At age 45, you should be seeing some results with 5 vials, but I would recommend giving it another month for collagen stimulation to fully occur.

.It can require multiple vials of Sculptra over an extended period of time to achieve best outcomes. If you are concerned about whether or not you can trust your doctor then I would find another physician. If you are pleased with your results and things seem to be going well, that would seem to be a good sign. Best of luck

I suggest you see an expert 16 vials seems like a lot however, you can use sculptra as your base and then other fillers on top to get a more improved outcome.  If you really need a lot of volume, fat injections may be best.  Please see an expert.  Dr. Emer.

Hi Cstecki.  As a rule of thumb, we use something called "Decade Dosing".  That means if you are in your 40's you are in the 5th decade of life and generally would need about 5 Sculptra vials, one for each decade.  With that said, thin patients may require more, but we have never used more than 6 vials of Sculptra in a 6 month period for any of our patients at any age.  16 sounds very high.  To see our Sculptra results for our Orange, CA patients, click on the link below.  

Sculptra is a great product that can diffusely add volume to the face over a series of treatments. I think 16 vials seems somewhat excessive. I will typically recommend, on average, 1 vial per decade of life as the total amount of vials you need to get a reasonable result. In your case, without seeing your face, you would be between 4 and 5 vials spaced over 2-3 treatments. If you have had 5 vials over a 2 month period, you should be seeing some result at this point. I hope this helps. 

16 vials is definitely excessive.  To date you have already had 5 vials over 2 months and for a 45 year old thin woman that may be appropriate.  It will take up to 6 months to see the final result so I would recommend waiting until that time to reevaluate and see if you need additional product.You should also consider getting a second opinion from an experienced injector.Sculptra is a great product for increasing facial volume and when done correctly you should expect beautiful and natural looking results.  Good Luck.

That seems a bit excessive.  General rule in my office is 1 vial for every decade of life, but on very thin angular faces, more may be needed.  You certainly are in the sweet spot, age-wise where you should be able to build collagen easily.  The most important factor in great Sculptra results is placement of the product where collagen building can occur.  

Most patients require 6 vials in the their first series of treatment. Some patients could definitely benefit from more. 16 vials seems like a lot. I would assess your results after a few months and see if you need more. If you see no improvement after six vials you probably will not get any improvement with additional vials either.

I often recommend a vial for each decade of life ( thus 5 vials based on your age). The number of vials needed is different for each person and a thin face often does require more vials. I would just take your time in between treatments and not rush into a total of 16 (which seems very high). I will typically do a series of 3 treatments ( 2 vials each time; 6-8 weeks apart) and then take several months off before injecting any more. I hope this helps.

16 vials seems like a lot of vials in a 45 year old patient but every person is different.  Many people use the rule of thumb that patients generally require one vial of Sculptra per decade of life.  For example, a 40 year old patient might require 4 vials.  However, people who are very hollow will usually require more vials for full correction.  Other options for people who are very hollow might include fat transfer.  You should be seeing some results after getting 5 vials of Sculptra.  Consider getting a second opinion from another doctor.  Make sure that you are seeing an experienced cosmetic physician.  Regards,Dr. Ort