Meeting Notes

Panel at The Aesthetic Meeting Discusses Best Practices For Facial Rejuvenation

The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) hosted a panel discussion about the latest best practices and uses for injectables including the newest FDA-approved options at The Aesthetic Meeting, which was held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in May.

There are 13 FDA-approved dermal fillers on the market to-date providing aesthetic plastic surgeons with the ability to customize anti-aging treatments to patients' needs. “The filler choices are dictated by a patient's unique aging pattern the anatomical area to be treated and physiochemical properties,” explained ASAPS member Z. Paul Lorenc, MD.

“Stackable treatments,” a facial rejuvenation concept pioneered by Julius Few, MD, combine dermal fillers with ultrasound technology like Ulthera and procedures including laser resurfacing to restore volume and lift and tighten the skin. “The combined synergistic triple threat is minimally invasive and allows patients to return to their everyday activities within a day or two. It is ideal for patients in the early to moderate stages of aging, and you don't have to be overly-aggressive with any of the components as they all feed off of one another to create the desired effect” noted Dr. Few.

Targeting various facial zones using different dermal fillers indicated for each respective area is a popular practice that aesthetic plastic surgeons are now using to produce natural-looking results with a longer shelf-life. “The days of using only one product on the entire face are over. What works best in one region might not produce the desired result in another region,” said Jackie Yee, Md. “It is imperative to use the entire toolbox of injectables now at our disposal in order to produce the best possible result tailored to the individual patient.” Restoring volume treats the target area but has a ripple effect through the entire face. The variety of filler options also enables aesthetic plastic surgeons to treat previously neglected areas of the face. “Adding volume to the mid-face region for example will require fillers to be injected into the temple and forehead to balance out a patient's facial features,” added Dr. Yee.