How long should you wait to get Sculptra on sides on the cheeks for hollowness and tear troughs after a facelift was performed?
Scupltra After Face Lift
Doctor Answers 18
It is reasonable to have Sculptra for contouring as soon as most of the swelling is gone.
6 weeks is a reasonable time frame.
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.
Web reference: http://www.feplasticsurgery.com/orange-county-facelift-newport-beach.php
The wound healing that occurs after facial surgery usually continues for up to a year. Most of the acute phase of healing will be completed at six months at which time scultpra can be consider. Other fillers can be utilized sooner because they are not bio stimulatory as scultpra is and do not interact with the wound healing process.
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There are many fillers that are available for use in the face. Sculptra is FDA approved for use in HIV patients with facial wasting. It is performed off-label for other areas in the face.
Sculptra is made of poly-l-lactic acid, a substance that is reactive, or irritating to human tissues. The human body sometimes walls off the substance, particularly when it is placed close to the surface or under thin skin such as that of the lower eyelids. I have seen many permanent problems that have resulted when Sculptra is used in the tear trough area or lower eyelids. The problems are usually related to firm lumps below the eyes. These lumps must often be surgically removed when they do not dissolve.
Many patients are happy with Sculptra. The satisfaction rate on RealSelf at the time of this post was 58%, not overwhelmingly high but not a disaster. The main complaints seem to center on long-term lumpiness.
For under eye hollowness, and for hollowness around the face, we prefer using LiveFill, untraumatized tissue obtained from the patient's own tissues, which is then inserted into areas of hollowness. In skilled hands, fat injection is a fine filler, although uneven take still nags this procedure. For temporary filling, we prefer hyaluronic acid products such as Juvederm, Restylane, Perlane or Prevelle (all different hyaluronic acid formulations) depending on the patient and the area requiring augmentation. The complication rate from these fillers, which last from 4 months to 12 months, depending on the patient and the location, is very low. The chance of a permanent complication from these substances is almost nonexistent.
Because of the relatively high complication rate we have seen from Sculptra, we don't use Sculptra in our practice, and do not recommend it around the eyes or in the tear trough area.
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.
Web reference: http://www.shahfacialplastics.com/facelift.html
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
A facelfit does a great job removing loose facial skin and tightening the jawline. But a facelfit can't correct volume deficits that develop as we age: those smile-line hollows, the hollows under the eyes, and even some cheek hollowing. For volume deficits, you need something like Sculptra (or another filler). I would wait about 4-6 weeks after a facelift before using Sculptra.
These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.
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