Monocheek syndrome: What to do if you have been overfilled with fillers.
Advantages of Fillers
One major appeal of hyaluronic fillers like Perlane, Restylane, and Juvederm–arguably some of today’s best facial fillers for many individuals–is the relative ease with which treatment can be given, modified, and even reversed. Opting to have facial filler strategically placed in areas of volume deficiency can greatly enhance your facial contour and restore the full features that are associated with youth. The type of filler or fillers you need and their placement will depend upon your unique facial structure and concerns, as well as medical history. In many cases, treatment of dark circles under the eyes can be achieved with Restylane and greatly complimented by Perlane placed in the upper cheek.
Treatment by facial fillers is a nonsurgical, comfortable procedure that can be performed as a comfortable, simple office visit to a qualified and experienced cosmetic surgeon who specializes in fillers and facial balance. The benefits of these hyaluronic fillers are long-lasting. Patients often find that under eye treatments can last a year and in some cases up to two years. This means that these nonsurgical results rival the longevity of surgical results and often exceeds the results of surgery.
Flexibility and Corrections with Fillers in the Cheek
However, if for any reason you are dissatisfied with your treatment, need a simple adjustment, or desire further consultation, your doctor can alter or essentially erase your filler results by using the enzyme hyaluronidase. In the case of an individual who has been overfilled with fillers, such as too much Perlane in the cheek. Overfill can take a couple of common forms. One type of over treatment is described by Dr. Steinsapir as the “monocheek” syndrome. This describes the situation when the top of the cheek is overfilled causing the lower eyelid crease to be filled up. It appears as though the cheek extends right up to the eyelashes. Another overfill syndrome is when the doctor overfills the cheek to low. This look is called the “New New Face” by Jonathan Van Meter. It makes the face look like a caricature of one’s face.
These overfill syndromes do not look natural. These treatments can be shaped to make the effect look much more natural. Correction by hyaluronidase is accomplished via small injections, which are comfortably and performed in the office. Typically, Dr. Steinsapir can help you completely resolve your concerns in just one or two office visits. The ease and safety of the correction means that there is just no reason why an individual should have to put up with dissatisfactory results. Dr. Steinsapir finds that some individuals put off being corrected because they are hoping the results will resolve on their own. However, because these treatments last a very long time, he advises having the service adjusted as early as possible to get the longest benefit from the treatment.
Expertise
The key with any satisfactory cosmetic treatment is choosing the right doctor. In most cases, your original cosmetic surgeon will be eager to correct your filler treatment with the hyaluronidase enzyme. Unfortunately, there are also underqualified medi-spas and nonspecialists performing these services, and this lack of expertise can be the reason you received too much filler, or filler that was not optimally placed in the precise anatomic areas where you need it. In such a case, it’s advisable to seek a second opinion from a board-certified cosmetic surgeon who makes facial fillers a major focus of his or her practice, and who has proven success and leadership in the field. As one of the top 3% users of Restylane and Perlane within the U.S., and as a Physician Consultant for Medicis, Inc. who distributes these fillers, Dr. Steinsapir provides unparalleled filler services and experience. If you are dissatisfied with treatment or desire a second opinion, you do not need to wait any longer. Please call us today to learn how you can improve your experience and achieve immediate benefits.
About Dr. Steinsapir
Dr. Steinsapir is a board certified eye surgeon and fellowship-trained in oculoplastic surgery and cosmetic surgery in Los Angeles where he specializes in balanced facial cosmetic surgery for natural results, with an emphasis on minimally invasive techniques, fast recovery time, and leadership in medical technology. Dr. Steinsapir has a private practice and also serves as an Associate Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at the Jules Stein Eye Institute, at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Contact us today to learn how Dr. Steinsapir’s experience and training make him an expert in cosmetic surgery, which can be a vital part of your evidence-based treatment plan.
Services described may be “off-label” and lack FDA approval. This article is informational and does not constitute an advertisement for off-label treatment. No services should be provided without a good faith examination by a licensed physician or surgeon and an informed consent with a discussion of risks, benefits, alternatives, and the likelihood of treatment success. Only you and your treating physician or surgeon can determine if a treatment is right for you.
Perlane Power
With a number of facial fillers on the market today and a number of fillers that have been used historically, we have seen great progress as these medical technologies and their applications develop over time. Restylane and Perlane stand out among the most trusted, safe, and useful fillers today. Perlane is one of the hyaluronic acid fillers distributed by Medicis, Inc., along with Restylane. We have found Restylane to be optimal for placement in under-eye hollows due to the thinness of the skin in this region, and we have also found that Perlane is a stand out product for volume replacement in the cheeks, chin, and in areas that require deeper filler placement for the shaping of the features. Often these are highly complimentary fillers, with Perlane restoring the deep fullness to the cheeks and provide a foundation for the volume that is associated with youth.
Perlane is a thicker hyaluronic acid filler, which makes it ideal for the types of contouring described above. It is a product with proven utility and safety, and its application is also easy and convenient. Treatment with Perlane can be as simple as an office visit with a qualified expert physician. Indeed, many individuals seeking advice from Dr. Steinsapir opt for treatment in the office at the time of the initial consultation. This treatment offers the benefit of longevity yet the convenience and flexibility. While you can enjoy your Perlane results for a year or more, eventually they will wear off. This allows for treatment at convenient intervals and without the concerns often associated with surgery. We find that most individuals receiving Perlane filler from Dr. Steinsapir are happy with their results and choose to maintain the aesthetic benefits achieved with periodic office visits.
In the past facial fillers like grafted fat, sculptra, and silicone oil have had their supporters and detractors. Today Perlane is typically a better alternative to these permanent and semi-permanent options. With Sculptra, altering your treatment is far more challenging. A saline injection may have some utility in breaking up the filler, but often it’s insufficient, and you may even require excision to alter your results. Silicone filler can also be understood as a permanent filler, and over time you are more likely to have dissatisfactory outcomes that are more complicated to change. And while grafted fat is sometimes indicated, Perlane is usually a more comfortable, minimally invasive, nonsurgical option. Surprisingly Perlane has a longevity that is very competitive to grafted fat, which often seems to require repetitive treatments to maintain the effect.
Lumps and bumps created by the permanent fillers can require major surgery to address. Conversely, results from the filler Perlane are easy to shape and change when needed. A treatment might hold a little too much volume and this can easily be modified in the office with an injection of the enzyme hyaluronidase. With a simple, comfortable office visit you can have your results shaped when necessary to achieve the best possible result. Perlane results rival and in many cases, exceed what can be accomplished with surgery.
When choosing a treatment provider, be sure to choose someone with differentiated expertise. As one of the top 3% users of Restylane and Perlane, Dr. Steinsapir makes facial fillers a major focus of his private practice in Beverly Hills. For a treatment plan customized to help you achieve your most natural aesthetic results possible, we invite you to consult with Dr. Steinsapir today. Please contact us for more information on how you can achieve remarkable improvements in your facial appearance without surgery.
About Dr. Steinsapir
Dr. Steinsapir is a board certified eye surgeon and fellowship-trained in oculoplastic surgery and cosmetic surgery in Los Angeles where he specializes in balanced facial cosmetic surgery for natural results, with an emphasis on minimally invasive techniques, fast recovery time, and leadership in medical technology. Dr. Steinsapir has a private practice and also serves as an Associate Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at the Jules Stein Eye Institute, at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Contact us today to learn how Dr. Steinsapir’s experience and training make him an expert in cosmetic surgery, which can be a vital part of your evidence-based treatment plan.
Services described may be “off-label” and lack FDA approval. This article is informational and does not constitute an advertisement for off-label treatment. No services should be provided without a good faith examination by a licensed physician or surgeon and an informed consent with a discussion of risks, benefits, alternatives, and the likelihood of treatment success. Only you and your treating physician or surgeon can determine if a treatment is right for you.
Stem Cell Facelift vs. Fat Transfers
It is said that every good lie contains a grain of truth. The truth about so-called Stem Cell Facelifts is that fat harvested from your body does contain small numbers of adult stem cells. Taking that fat and transferring it to your face as a fat transfer does place these adult stem cells into the face. However, the promise of the name: Stem Cell Facelift is a lie. The implication is that these stem cells in some way rejuvenate the face. Like fad dieting and get rich quick schemes, the public can’t get enough of this type of hype. You would think at some point people would have learned that if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. You would be wrong. Enterprising cosmetic surgeons have learned this lesson as well. So we are bombarded with new procedures with enticing names that seem so scientific. It would be great if the Stem Cell Facelift was based on science rather than science fiction. Do so-called Stem Cell Facelifts provide facial rejuvenation? Yes, but not because of the adult stem cells in the fat. This is just a new way for cosmetic surgeons to insult your intelligence.
The Real Benefits of fat grafting
The reality is, there is no evidence to suggest that stem cells present in adult fat placed in the face have any impact or role in the effects of volumizing the face with grafted fat. Fat grafting procedures work because about 60 to 70 percent of the transferred fat survives, creating long-lasting volume and this helps improve the appearance of the face because loss of volume over time is an important factor in making one look older as we age.
Fat grafting is a biologically safe procedure because the fat transferred is from your body. It is precisely delivered through a tiny poke in the skin that heals without scarring and the procedure can be done under local anesthesia. The fat transfer in a “stem cell facelift” may be combined with other procedures like a traditional facelift or midface lift. It is more accurate to refer to a “stem cell facelift” as “facial volumizing with grafted fat.”
Fact and fiction
It is true that the stem cells in your body fat can be separated from the fat and, in a test tube at a research lab, be stimulated to develop into other cell types. There is a lot of impressive research being done in this area so we can learn more about important potential medical uses of stem cells. But there is no evidence to support the idea that the stem cells in the grafted fat are stimulated this way when transplanted from one part of your body to another
Finding a doctor who relies on science
The biggest concern with the “stem cell facelift” is not that it’s a bad or unsafe procedure, but rather that the term “stem cell” is a deceptive name that promises something that it does not deliver. When seeking treatment, make sure that your potential cosmetic surgeon relies on science, experience, and skill rather than catchy marketing phrases. Your doctor should be a specialist in facial cosmetic procedures and completely honest about what a treatment does and does not do. Relying on the honest application of skills, proven methods, and experience will help you achieve your goals. Deceptive marketing practices violate the principles that make a good working relationship between the surgeon and the patients, which must be based on well-placed trust and honesty.
About Dr. Steinsapir
Dr. Steinsapir is an expert cosmetic plastic surgeon who has skillfully handled face lift and fat grafting procedures in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills for over 20 years. He is a board certified ophthalmologist surgeon and fellowship trained in oculofacial surgery and cosmetic surgery in Southern California where he specializes in balanced facial cosmetic surgery for natural results, with an emphasis on minimally invasive techniques, fast recovery time, and leadership in medical technology. Dr. Steinsapir has a private practice and also serves as an Associate Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at the Jules Stein Eye Institute, at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Contact us today to learn how Dr. Steinsapir’s experience and training make him an expert cosmetic surgery provider.
Services described may be “off-label” and lack FDA approval. This article is informational and does not constitute an advertisement for off-label treatment. No services should be provided without a good faith examination by a licensed physician and an informed consent with a discussion of risks, benefits, alternatives, and the likelihood of treatment success. Only you and your treating physician or surgeon can determine if a treatment is right for you.
Is it a good idea to freeze fat for later use?
One of the reasons fat grafting can be both useful and so safe is because these cosmetic procedures rely on your own tissue and, as your exact biological match, so no risk of an allergic reaction or rejection of the cells placed. This facial filler is literally your own fat cells.
Fat is a living graft. The harvested fat cells are placed where they need to be in order to rejuvenate your features through facial volume restoration. Fat transfer to the face is clinically successful because approximately 60% to 70% of the fat that is grafted survives, creating meaningful results in areas like the midface.
Effective fat transfer treatment relies on the grafting of living fat. Like other living things, the fat cells used in fat transfers have a lifespan, can be damaged, and will eventually die. The primary problem with freezing fat for later use is that the fat’s life is not easily preserved, which means your treatment will not be as effective next time.
Why doesn’t freezing fat work very well?
When your cosmetic surgeon harvests fat for your treatment, he or she will obtain it from another part of your body, essentially performing a mini liposuction on that area. It’s very appealing to harvest extra fat for later use, because theoretically you can initially have a more comprehensive liposuction procedure, and then save this fat to top off your filler sometime in the future – in other words, you’d get the added cosmetic benefit of liposuction now and then cut a step out of your treatment later. Unfortunately, cutting corners often leads to problems, and this example is no exception.
You have heard of fertility doctors and researchers freezing eggs, so it’s tempting to assume that you can just plop your harvested fat cells into a freezer and come back to them in a few months or years. In this case, the egg is preserved using very special tissue techniques that enable a high percentage (but not all) of the eggs to survive. Much of the fat, on the other hand, dies once it is frozen. As we discussed above, successful fat transfer results relies on the viable fat cells that survive transfer.
If your facial cosmetic surgeon were to freeze your fat for later use and then place it during your later treatment, you would ultimately have disappointing results. Immediately after the treatment, you would have some swelling caused by the injection and the added volume, just as occurred during your original fat grafting procedure. However, this time the results would be disappointing, because the body will work to remove the dead fat cells, and a vast proportion of them will have not survived. Since great results depends on the transfer of your living cells, with fewer alive you will have less satisfaction in the outcome. Because of the inflammation associated with the body removing the dead fat cells, swelling is the main reason you might think the procedure was initially successful and then over the course of weeks, this swelling disappears.
Additionally, you should consider that a surgeon who offers to store fat is running an unlicensed tissue bank. Licensed tissue banks have very tightly controlled procedures, specialized equipment, expertise, and backup procedures. How do you know you are getting your own fat back, what steps were taken to reduce the risk of cross-contamination? Do they screen for Hepatitis and HIV? Before jumping on board with a surgeon who says he or she can save your fat for later, you need to find out if your doctor has the appropriate licensing and background needed to perform these additional medical tasks. But you should also question whether freezing fat for later is a good practice to begin with.
Best Practices for Best Results
Given these reasons, it is no wonder that freezing fat for later use has been questioned by respected medical authorities. Time-tested experience and clinical studies have shown that harvesting fresh fat yields the best possible results. When it comes to things as important as your health and appearance, it never pays to take shortcuts. At worst, to do so would be a gamble and a risk; at best, the shortcut would bring dissatisfactory results and you’ll need to redo your treatment the right way.
The evidence-based placement of fillers for the face like Restylane and natural fat transfers are an excellent option for many individuals who are dissatisfied with their deficiencies in facial volumes. If you are concerned and wonder if a fat transfer or another service might benefit you, consider how a specialized physician in facial fillers and treatments can help.
Dr. Steinsapir studied at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA as well as at the University of Chicago, and he is trained in both cosmetic and oculofacial surgery. His philosophy is to build customized aesthetic solutions for individuals that enhance the face’s natural beauty with balanced results through minimally invasive practices. To learn more about safe and effective fat transfers and other facial concerns, contact us today to schedule your risk-free consultation.
What happens to my facial fat grafts when I gain weight?
Overview
Facial filler treatments and fat grafting can be excellent ways to soften the facial features by correcting imbalances and deficiencies in facial fat distribution. Your decision to pursue fat grafting treatment is one you should carefully consider with your doctor, as there are multiple options for achieving your desired look, and the solution that’s best for you will depend on variables like your medical history, present condition, and treatment goals. Like other treatment options available today, fat grafting is particularly suited for some individual’s needs, while for others there may be other more suitable options.
Fat Grafts and Changes in Weight
If your weight changes just a little, you probably won’t notice much difference in your treatment results. If you have significant changes in weight, though, you could see some differences in the form of increased facial volume. This is important to consider before opting for fat grafts. While you probably aren’t planning on gaining weight, you and your doctor should take into account the likelihood of weight fluctuations given your medical history and current lifestyle.
So what can you expect with changes in weight? This depends on the individual, but with small changes in weight there is generally little change in the fat graft volume. However, with an increased weight and body fat, the grafts also increase in volume like the fat compartment from which they were removed. For example, when the body fat increases 10% or more, the grafted fat also significantly increases in volume.
While the effects of most facial cosmetic surgery eventually diminish over time, it’s important to recognize that fat grafting does yield long-term results. This is a great benefit for those who seek long-term change, but there are also times when the nature of this treatment can result in an unsatisfactory result even years after the original fat grafting procedure.
Achieving the Best Long-Term Results
In an ideal world we will all of course adopt a healthy, active lifestyle that includes good nutrition and keeps your weight at a stable place where your body works best. But the reality is that most Americans gain about one pound of weight per year. While most qualified cosmetic surgeons can comfortably adjust and even reverse treatments with Restylane and other hyaluronic acid fillers, correcting the facial contour after fat grafting is not so simple or straightforward.
These tendencies lead many cosmetic surgeons to favor the new facial fillers—like undereye Restylane, Perlane, and Juvederm—for most patients. These fillers do not last as long as fat grafts, but they are very popular and effective because they are safe, provide benefit without the necessity of surgery, can be adjusted with the enzyme hyaluronidase, and have science-based, proven results.
Does this mean that fat grafting is wrong for you? Not necessarily—fat grafting is an excellent option for certain situations on a person-to-person basis, just as facial fillers and other procedures like the facelift work well for many individuals. You will need to consult with an experienced cosmetic surgeon before making a final decision that is right for you.
Experience Counts; Consult with the Best
Dr. Steinsapir is a leader in cosmetic facial fillers and other cosmetic facial treatments and surgeries. In fact, he has served as a physician consultant to Medicis, Inc. (Perlane’s and Restylane’s distributor). He has developed Deepfill Restylane, the world-renowned method of treating dark circles under the eyes. His practice emphasizes minimally invasive treatment methods that are customized for the individual’s unique situational needs, with the aim of fast healing time and natural results. For more information on how Dr. Steinsapir can help you determine your best treatment options, contact us today.
