Will The Final Result of Sculptra Be Similar to the Swollen Look I Had Initially?

Sculptra will provide gradual, progressive facial volume replacement. However, each treatment involves injecting 5 - 20 mL of water (depends upon dilution and the number of vials used) containing a suspension of Sculptra. With that said you WILL gain volume following Sculptra treatment but it is highly unlikely that your treatment will result in generation of the equivalent of 20 mL of collagen. It is difficult to put a number or percent on the results as all patients respond differently to Sculptra treatment. However, the beauty of Sculptra is that the treatment can be tailored with subsequent injections to optimize facial volume replacement throughout the series of treatments.
Thank you for your question.Stephen Weber MD, FACS

As Sculptra is reconstituted in water, nearly all of the injected volume will go away within a day or two. The injected volume is used as a guideline to determine how much product to inject in any specific area. It is hard to predict what the end result will be a this is a stimulatory product and different people will react differently. In general, it takes 4-6weeks to see results from any one treatmen session. At that time, you and your doctor can decide if you need more product.

Sculptra is reconstituted in sterile water so most of the early filling effect of the first treatment is still the water. There is also some swelling from the needle trauma of injection. I advise all my patients to continue the massage routine over the next several days as directed by the manufacturer.

I find that my patients are more surprised by any swelling if I place two or more vials at the first session. Usually the volume correction with just one vial is about two teaspoons of correction, which in most people looks good. I ask my patients not to take fish or plant oils, aspirin or anti-inflammatories before any injection treatment.