Facial Fillers
What are Facial Fillers?
There are many different ways to combat the signs of aging. One way that we use at the Canadian Plastic Surgery Centre in Toronto is called fillers. Fillers can restore lost volume to specific body parts while also helping smooth the skin. With a properly inserted filler, you can potentially look years younger with minimal pain and recovery time.
How Do Fillers Differ From Traditional Cosmetic Surgery?
The main way that fillers differ from traditional cosmetic surgery is that there is no actual surgery involved in the procedure. Instead, filler treatment is performed entirely with injections. This makes the procedure much less invasive and greatly reduces the pain involved following the procedure.
Additionally, because the procedure isn’t surgical, no form of sedation is required. This is particularly important for patients that react badly to general anesthesia or who have never had general anesthesia and don’t know how they might reaction. Furthermore, unlike most traditional cosmetic surgical procedures, that usually take weeks before the results show, the results from fillers are apparent immediately following the surgery, usually with minimal swelling, recovery time, and no need to take time off from work or school after the treatment.
Suitable Candidates
Because surgery and anesthesia is not involved, normally anyone who is looking to increase the volume of specific parts of their face are candidates for fillers. In rare cases a patient may have medical issues that make fillers unsafe, which is why Dr. Chivers will perform a full examination and study your medical history to ensure that fillers are safe and optimal for the results that you are looking for. Finally, candidates for fillers must either be non-smokers or must give up smoking for two full weeks before the treatment in order to ensure that the treatment is fully effective.
Fillers can provide increased volume in specific parts of the face, including:
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Cheeks – creates healthier looking and smoother cheeks
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Nose – can help straighten the shape of your nose
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Lip – builds fuller and bolder lips
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Lower Eyelids – removes wrinkles and makes you look younger
How do Fillers Changes Your Looks?
Is this process reversible?
There are two types of filler: permanent and temporary dermal fillers.
Permanent Dermal Fillers - are made from substances that are not absorbed by the body and last longer than non-permanent fillers. There are common types of permanent fillers but many are not recommended or available in Canada.
Temporary Dermal Fillers - typically contain hyaluronic acid, which is a substance that is naturally found in connective tissue of the human body. Hyaluronic acid is constantly overturned in the body, and is broken down by enzymes within the body. This is why this these dermal fillers are temporary and also allows for easy reversibility if patients are unsatisfied with the result. Hyaluronidase, a natural enzyme, can be injected into areas to help shape the results of hyaluronidase dermal fillers, to reduce the volume of the fillers and smooth out the treatment sites.
Facial Filler Brands
Common Filler Injection Areas
Forehead Wrinkles - Fillers can be used to fill the horizontal and vertical lines created from facial movements to help you regain a smoother, more youthful appearance
Scars - Dermal fillers can be injected into scars, including acne scarring, to fill depressions and smooth out the depressions found on the face.
Under Eyes - Fillers can be used to fill the areas beneath the eyes to help reduce the sunken and dark areas that develop from fat loss in this area.
Cheeks, Jawline and Chin - Fat pockets that is evenly distributed in the face in our youth diminish with age which can be filled with dermal fillers. Fillers add volume to the cheeks, chin and jawline to replace lost volume and corrects creases that develop from uneven loss of facial volumes.
Lips - Injectable fillers can be used to increase the volume in thin, flat lips to achieve a more aesthetic contours.
Nasolabial Fold - Fillers can be used to fill the deep lines that develop from edge of the nose down to the corners of the mouth. Fillers injected in these area bring upon a more youthful appearance.
Procedure
The process of filler injection is simple. Prior to injections, your surgeon will mark out the areas on you face that will benefit from filler injection and numbing cream or ice is applied directly onto the area. Fillers are then strategically injected into the mark out areas to improve the contours on your face, helping you reach your aesthetic goals. The total time for your procedure will take about 30 minutes.
Recovery
Recovery from filler injections is simple and quick. There are no special precautions. You can return to work the following day after your injections. It takes approximately 2 weeks for the injections to settle to its final results from the treatment. Sometimes an additional injection is needed to attain the desired goals.