FILLERS: THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH / By Deborah S. Sarnoff, M.D.
HEALTH SKIN DEEP
68
If you had the chance to look seven years younger in less than 10 minutes, what would you do? The use of injectable products to eliminate wrinkles and restore volume to the skin has increased at a breathtaking rate. In particular, facial fillers have become quite popular as a way to erase moderate-to-deep facial wrinkles and folds without surgery. Fillers are not for women only; men are equally excellent candidates for a new and younger look. As we all age, our skin generates a lower quantity of the natural hydrating substance called hyaluronic acid. Aesthetic physicians use a variety of hyaluronic acid fillers such as Juvéderm® or Restylane®, which, like the pull of a magnet, attract water to the skin, replacing lost volume. Think of a raisin turning back into a grape – right before your eyes! Got needlephobia? Today’s fillers are virtually painless – thanks to numbing creams applied to the skin, the use of chilling machines and fine, tiny needles used for treatment. One important question patients always ask me is “Exactly how much younger will I look after a filler treatment?” Well, I’m happy to be able to provide a definitive answer to that question, thanks to a recent clinical study on the subject where I worked as an investigator. In the study, published in the March 2010 issue of Dermatologic Surgery, 10 patients, aged 4259, with moderate-to-severe volume loss of the face, received several syringes (six, on average) of hyaluronic acid injected into the cheeks, tear troughs, nasolabial folds, marionette lines, lips and chin in a single treatment session. No touchup or alteration was allowed within the four-week study period. Three board-certified dermatologists assessed each patient’s age on three separate occasions using photographs taken by a clinical photography system known as the Visia CR System. Photos were taken before treatment, then three weeks and four
weeks after treatment. The investigators determined that the average decrease in the perceived age of the patients four weeks after treatment was a full 7.3 years. Interestingly, the patients perceived an even greater change in their apparent ages than the clinical investigators. The patients thought they looked nine years younger after only two weeks. As one of my male patients told me: “Guys under 45 are getting all the jobs. I’ve got limited time, limited funds, and looking at least seven years younger without going under the knife is good enough for me – I’ll take it!” Fillers made of hyaluronic acid are known as temporary fillers, with results typically lasting up to a year. However, scientific evidence reveals that temporary fillers actually stimulate collagen in the skin and can provide results that last significantly longer than a year. Modern injectables help you look refreshed, younger and healthier by smoothing out facial wrinkles and folds. They can be used alone or in combination with Botox® and laser resurfacing to achieve the facial rejuvenation you desire. If you are considering any type of cosmetic treatment, be sure that it is administered by a board-certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon.
Deborah S. Sarnoff, M.D., with offices in Manhattan and Greenvale, Long Island, is a pioneer in state-of-the-art cosmetic dermotology, lasers and Mohs surgery for the treatment of skin cancer. A clinical professor of dermatology at NYU Medical Center and in private practice with her husband, board-certified plastic surgeon Robert H. Gotkin, M.D., Dr. Sarnoff has demonstrated her procedures on The Today Show, 20/20, Good Morning America, Dateline, The View and The Doctors TV show. Dr. Sarnoff is co-author of Beauty and the Beam and Instant Beauty: Getting Gorgeous on Your Lunch Break. For additional information, call 516.484.9000 or visit www. cosmetiqueMD.com
THE BOULEVARD JULY 2010
page 068 Sarnoff.indd 68
5/27/10 4:40:01 PM