What’s New in Cosmetic Surgery: Updates from The Aesthetic Meeting 2014
I just returned from San Francisco where I attended the meeting of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. This is an international meeting with attendees from all over the world. I was involved in teaching a course on rhinoplasty (nasal surgery) to practicing plastic surgeons and residents. This meeting provides a venue for members to share their experience on the latest innovations and modifications in plastic surgery.
This year, one of the most impressive innovations presented was the addition of using your own fat to further compliment facial cosmetic surgery. This is something we have been doing for years but the more aggressive application presented at the meeting further advances the quality of the results and the youthful appearances that can be attained.
As we age, we lose bone structure in our face, tissues droop and we deflate. If these changes or deficiencies are subtle, fillers may be able to provide improvement without the need for surgery. The most common choices are hyaluronic acids (Restylane and Juvederm). The newest filler out there is Voluma, which is a thicker product that is longer lasting, as much as 24 months in some studies. Our initial experience has been very encouraging.
If there are multiple areas that need filling, fat may be considered as a more permanent alternative. This now becomes an operating room experience as opposed to an office one. If there is significant laxity of skin, facial cosmetic surgery may be indicated to reposition these structures. The addition of fat truly assists in restoring the lost volume. Areas that are involved include: eyelids, temporal hollows, cheeks, the fold between the corner of your nose and mouth (the nasolabial fold) and the area below the corner of your mouth in front of what presents as a jowl (the marionette region), lips, as well as the jawline and chin all of which can be addressed at one sitting. This may add additional time to your surgical experience and slightly longer recovery due to swelling but the quality of the result is easily worth the trade off. The goal of facial plastic surgery is to restore a youthful natural appearance and never to look “operated on”.
Computer imaging is an aid we use to better assist patients in appreciating the goals of surgery and an opportunity to participate in some of the decisions relative to their concerns.
