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Find a Collagen
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 | | The Patient’s Guide™ is the most respected online publication providing information about collagen injections, aged and damaged skin, skin care treatments, and laser medicine. Our mission is to provide you with unbiased, scientifically accurate information about wrinkles and fine lines, as well as potential treatments. | | >>More About the Patient's Guide | |
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As you age, your face loses collagen and elastin, the two elements that give volume
to your skin. As a result, not only does your facial skin begin to sag, but your
cheeks start to “hollow out” as well, due to a shrinking of the pad of fat (known
as the malar fat pad) attached to your cheek bone. You look more drawn and gaunt.
In some ways, the process is similar to what happens to an aging plum: it dries
out, loses volume, and shrinks, becoming a prune.
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What treatments are available?
For a long time, the only treatment to bring youthful fullness back to aging cheeks
was surgery. It is still done, of course. Under general anesthesia, surgeons cut
an incision, usually made inside the upper lip or lower eyelid, and insert silicone
or fat implants. The surgery is done on an outpatient basis, and usually requires
only a few days of recovery, although you must wait three or four weeks to return
to sports or other activities that might impact your face. The results are permanent.
In recent years, however, physicians have begun to use dermal fillers to increase
volume in the cheekbone area. This procedure is minimally invasive, requires little
if any down-time, and has fewer side effects than full-blown implant surgery. The
results are not permanent; instead, they typically last 6 months to 1½ years. But
this shorter time frame also means that the results are essentially reversible if
it turns out you don’t like the “new look.”
What is the cheek augmentation procedure with dermal fillers like?
The treatment generally takes less than an hour, and is done right in your doctor’s
office. You’ll be given only a local anesthesia, which means you’ll be awake through
the entire procedure. The filler is usually injected in layers to gradually build
a new structure for your cheeks.
Are there any side effects with dermal filler augmentations?
You’ll experience some mild redness, swelling, and perhaps some bruising. These
side effects should disappear within a day or two. Most people are able to return
to their daily activities immediately after the procedure.
What can I expect from dermal filler augmentations?
You’ll notice that not only are your cheeks plumper, but the wrinkles on and around
them are diminished as well. To maintain the new look, however, you’ll need maintenance
treatments, although most people require less filler with each treatment as the
skin responds and creates its own new collagen.
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Sculptra can be used for areas of volume loss, as Dr. Kilmer explains
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