Scupltra After Face Lift

I would rec. waiting until the swelling has subsided for symmetry reasons. If you have some residual swelling from the facelift and you start down the path of sculptra, you may have some asymmetry later. So I always rec. atleast 6 months of wait time after facelift before embarking on adjunctive facial procedures, including sculptra and fillers.

By 6 months time the residual swelling has subsided. 6 months may be on the conservative side, but it would be worth the wait rather than chasing one side because you have more volume than the other.

Hope that helps.

You should consider have a fat transfer done during the Facelift procedure.  This will help to avoid the "hollowness" that you are mentioning.  You should also ask your plastic surgeon what they recommend for your individual case.  Fat transfers are very common during the Facelift.  If you have already had the Facelift you can still do a transfer post operatively under local anesthesia or even IV sedation.

After surgery, you will need time to allow your face to heal and for the swelling to resolve. I would suggest waiting 3 months after your surgery before starting Sculptra.

Most patients seeking volumetric correction of their face as well as tightening will have fat transfer at the same time.  Fat transfer offers some advantages over Sculptra in that it is a transfer of live fat cells and can create a stem cell affect.  

If fat transfer is not an option for you, Sculptra can be injected anytime during the recovery of a facelift, with most patients receiving an injection several months after a facelift.

In my opinion, concurrent use of Sculptra with Facelift is an acceptable practice.  The volume production that occurs with Sculptra does not manifest itself for 3 weeks or more. During this time frame, the generalized swelling from Facelift is gradually subsiding (albeit not completely).  Sculptra often takes two to three treatments spaced over the course of several months to achieve meaningful results.

I would wait a considerable amount of time before using sculptra after a facelift.  I would recommend around 6-12 months.  The allow all the edema to resolve and tissues to soften so that the true deficit can be evaluated and the appropriated treatment rendered.

Dr. ES