Botox and Fillers

Fillers (Restylane™, Juvederm^® Ultra, Volbella, Voluma, Vollure, Sculptra™, Radiesse™, etc) and Newport Beach Botox™ are one of the largest growing parts of my current practice.  It is important to understand what they do and do not do. For the right patient, I can correct wrinkles, plump lips, accentuate brows and eyelids, and blend facial units right before my patients’ eyes. Since the results are immediate with fillers, patients love that they can help to direct their own aesthetic while I slowly enhance subunits of the face.

Botox is great for the prevention and treatment of wrinkles. Botox™ Cosmetic is approved for use in the glabella (the area between the eyebrows). However, I often use this “off label” for wrinkles of the forehead, eyes, chin, and neck. I also use it to raise the lateral eyebrows and corners of the mouth. In addition, I use Botox for the treatment of Migraine headaches and excessive sweating in the armpits.

Likewise, fillers are a great way to correct mild to moderate contour issues and wrinkles. I use them literally all over the face and often in conjunction with surgery to augment the final result. Conventional injections include the nasolabial folds (junction of the cheek and upper lip), but I also use them to augment the eyebrows, eyelids, area in front of the jowls, junction of the lower eyelid and cheek, chin, lips, and columns in between the lips and nose. These minor enhancements lead to a more refreshed look with the advantage that no surgery or incisions are needed.

While many doctors have their nurses and aestheticians do these procedures, all the injections are performed by myself and Nurse Injector Sara. The reason is that I do surgery in these areas on a weekly basis and know exactly where the muscles are, how they contract, and what is under the skin I am injecting. I truly think this improves the cosmetic results. First and foremost, I need to understand exactly what the patients expect to get from the treatments and what he or she desires. For example, I use different concentrations and different products depending on how “animated” patients are, what part of the face they wish to work on, and what they do for a living. If a patient is on television or in sales, it is often not advantageous to completely weaken facial muscles. If the whole face is moving while you speak or smile, but the upper third is completely lifeless, people will notice and wonder why your face looks abnormal. My goal is a very natural result, and doing the injections of fillers and Botox™ myself is paramount in any facial aging practice. Always ask yourself, is the person doing my procedures able to fix or adjust things if I don’t like the result? Can they deal with potential complications? If the answer is no, I would never let them work on my face.