Injectables & Dermal Fillers
The effects of time, gravity, and sun exposure can leave areas of the face wrinkled, creased, or sunken in appearance. If you are concerned about these signs of aging, injectable fillers may help rejuvenate your appearance. The non-surgical rejuvenation treatments offered at McCormack Plastic Surgery are among the most popular procedures requested by our patients.
BOTOX® Cosmetic
As a minimally invasive alternative to a facelift and other plastic surgery options, Reno and Carson City residents may be able to benefit from BOTOX® Therapy. A BOTOX® Cosmetic treatment is a fast, non-surgical procedure that smoothes deep, persistent facial lines with small injections that relax the muscles that are causing those lines without affecting adjacent healthy tissue. There is no recovery period – your results appear within days and can last for up to four months. Some patients express concern about not looking natural or losing their expression afterwards. Dr. McCormack works with each individual to specifically target problem areas without freezing the whole face. Rather than employ a “cookie cutter approach” Dr. McCormack’s philosophy is technique-sensitive. Her patients are often amazed by how dramatic the changes can be from such a minimally invasive procedure. Dr. McCormack will often use Botox® in conjunction with facial surgery to further augment your results. We frequently run specials and discounts for returning patients as a thank you for choosing us as your plastic surgery providers.
Dermal Fillers
Injectable gel dermal fillers such as Juvéderm™, Restylane® and Perlane® can easily enhance your facial appearance yet leave you still looking like yourself. Dermal fillers work by instantly filling in and smoothing out wrinkles and folds that such as the nasolabial folds (the parentheses along the side of your nose and mouth), the marionette lines, and other facial lines. There are several new techniques available today using fillers to lift the brow, lift the corners of the mouth, rejuvenate the hands, smooth scars, or even for the so called “liquid facelift”. Dr. McCormack or her aesthetics nurse Susan will go over several options with you to help develop a treatment strategy to target specific areas that bother you.
About Injectable Dermal Fillers
Most dermal fillers consist of hyaluronic acid. In the human body natural hyaluronic acid provides volume and fullness to the skin. Dermal fillers have been modified slightly to last longer than the body’s own. These products do not contain animal proteins. This limits any risk of animal-based disease transmission or allergic reaction. No skin test is required prior to treatment.
Results
Depending on the filler you choose, results typically last from 6 months to one year. injections may cause some discomfort during the treatment process as these are typically performed in the office while you are awake. The procedure is fairly quick with minimal down time. Dr. McCormack will work with you to try to alleviate this discomfort with numbing creams and dental blocks when necessary.
Side Effects
Side effects are minimal and may include slight bruising from the needle used to inject, mild swelling, redness or tenderness. Rarely, patients may experience lumps/bumps, itching, discoloration, and firmness. Dr. McCormack recommends avoiding the use of aspirin or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, St. John’s Wort, or high dose vitamin E supplements prior to treatment because they may cause increased bleeding and bruising. If you suffer from facial cold sores, we may prescribe medication to minimize recurrence.
Consultations
We offer a free skin care consultation with each cosmetic surgery consultation. We believe you will be amazed by some of our before and after photos. Our philosophy is to start with minimally invasive procedures to stave off larger surgery when applicable. Still, some patients require a full face lift or brow lift to obtain optimal results. Augmenting these surgeries with dermal fillers gives an even more dramatic result without having to aggressively tighten or remove skin. This minimizes the appearance of having had surgery or the classic “wind blown” effect that gives patients away. We believe strongly in the restoration of volume rather than merely tightening the face. As a wise mentor of Dr. McCormack’s once explained, “A young face is like a grape. With age, it becomes more like a raisin. Traditional facelifts may turn that raisin into a pea which still looks nothing like a grape. It looks more like a tightened raisin.” Along these lines, with age we are lose volume and it only makes sense to restore that volume when rejuvenating the face.