Non-Surgical Techniques

Non surgical facial rejuvination uses a variety of techniques to give the desired improvement in appearance.

“Injectable fillers” can used to correct small defects such as wrinkles or used in larger amounts to create an increase in volume in areas such as the lips, cheeks or the whole face. Filler can be non permanent or permanent.

Non permanent fillers last for a variable length of time depending on the product and can last from 3 months to around 24 months. The filler are made from a variety of compounds such as hyaluronic acid (Restylane®), collagen (Zydrerm®) and polyglycolic acid (Sculptura®).

Permanent fillers do not dissolve and can be very difficult to remove. Fat is the commonest permanent filler used in this practise.

Benefits

• Usually performed under local anaesthetic as an outpatients procedure. Colman fat transfer may need a general anaesthetic and bea daysurgery procedure
• Results immediate
• Repeatable when the product disappears.

Adverse Effects

• Swelling and bruising
• Pain
• Infection
• Persistent lumpiness.

Anti-Wrinkle Injections
The ageing process can result in lines developing, paralysing the muscle that create the wrinkles can soften those wrinkles that are present or prevent further lines developing.

Botulinum toxin (Botox®) is an injectable chemical paralysing agent which when injected in small amounts can paralyse muscles to prevent wrinkle formation. The effects of the paralysis do not start for about 4-5 days but can last for about 3-4 months.

Adverse effects

• Spreading of the toxin to other areas
• Allergic reactions
• Poor results
• No action from the toxin.

Resurfacing Techniques
General skin care is very important in facial rejuvenation. There are a variety of products available that can improve the general condition of the skin. In patients who have significant sun damage, patchy pigmentation, acne scaring etc resurfacing techniques can lead to an improvement in the skin quality.

Dermabraision, chemical peels and laser resurfacing are available to improve facial skin quality.

Adverse effects

• Swelling
• Scarring
• Redness
• Pigmentation changes
• Infection.