Do I Need Dermal Fillers or a Facelift?
Do I Need Dermal Fillers or a Facelift?
Thanks to their ability to provide significant, non-surgical facial rejuvenation, dermal fillers have experienced a huge increase in popularity in recent years. But while dermal fillers do help avoid the downtime faced by patients of facelift surgery, the results of dermal fillers are less dramatic. So the efficacy of dermal fillers can be limited for some patients, particularly as an option for older individuals. For such these patients, the best path to facial rejuvenation may be facelift surgery – which is capable of reversing the effects of aging such as deep wrinkles or skin that has significantly lost elasticity.
So how exactly does one decide between a facelift and dermal fillers? In this article, Troy, MI area board certified plastic surgeon Dr. Ali explains who can benefit from dermal fillers and who is a better candidate for a facelift.
Dermal Fillers as a Facelift Alternative
For treating signs of the aging process on the minor-to-moderate end of the spectrum, dermal fillers can often be a better option than a facelift. At AMAE in the Troy, MI area, we provide a wide selection of dermal fillers, as well as other injectable treatments such as Botox.
While facelift surgery was once the only way of medically addressing facial issues relating to age, men and women may now choose from a several types of dermal fillers to correct the signs of aging. Fillers like Volbella and Juvéderm are made with hyaluronic acid (HA), and can be used to instantly add volume to the lips or to smooth out wrinkles. Rather than undergoing facelift surgery, Troy, MI area patients may instead add volume to their face, cheeks or temples with fillers like Voluma.
But while a facelift provides lasting facial rejuvenation results that can last a decade, dermal fillers are significantly less long-lasting. On average, dermal fillers will last from 3 months to a year – with a few of the more durable fillers lasting up to 18 months or 2 years. However, unlike facelift surgery, getting dermal fillers is a relatively painless procedure with no downtime – and only some minor swelling or bruising. Dermal filler patients are able to return to their normal routine as soon as their appointment is complete!
Many of our patients visit our Troy, MI area office for dermal fillers on their lunch break and return to work as soon as they are finished. The same, obviously, cannot be said of facelift surgery patients.
What A Facelift Can Do That Fillers Cannot
Despite their many advantages, dermal fillers also come with one major, unavoidable downside: results can only be maintained by repeatedly undergoing additional injections. And dermal fillers are incapable of eliminating deeper folds and wrinkles, vertical neck bands caused by loose skin, severely etched lines (often located above the upper lip), or the formation of jowls. Instead, patients who wish to correct these more advanced signs of aging may instead want to consider facelift surgery.
The Facelift Procedure
After making several very fine incisions (hidden around the patient’s hairline, past the ears, and under their chin), board certified Troy, MI area plastic surgeon Dr. Ali then manually works to separate the skin from the underlying muscles of the face. Once excess fat has been removed and the muscles have undergone any necessary tightening, the skin will then be pulled back to the line of the initial incision, and stitched back in place.
While numerous different types of facelift procedures are available, almost every technique used to perform facelift surgery is capable of dramatically reducing symptoms of aging. Through facelift surgery, men and women in the Troy, MI area are capable of looking many years younger than their actual age.
And while facelift surgery does require our Troy, MI area patients to spend several days resting and recovering, the long-lasting results are well worth the downtime. By maintaining strong bone structure and a consistent body weight, the effects of a facelift can last as long as a full decade. A far cry from the 4 – 18 months of dermal fillers.
Furthermore, Troy, MI area patients many even find that, in the long run, facelift surgery is much more cost effective than ongoing dermal fillers. While a single dermal filler treatment obviously costs less than a facelift, patients must remember that dermal fillers must be maintained through a continuous series of injections. So, while the dollar amount spent on their treatment plan will vary from person to person, the cost of a facelift can actually be cheaper than the total cumulative cost of touching up one’s dermal fillers every few months.
Dermal Fillers & Facelifts – Troy, MI Area
Both facelift surgery and dermal fillers each offer their own unique advantages. While some Troy, MI area patients will best meet their aesthetic goals through dermal fillers, others will benefit more greatly from a facelift.
In order to determine whether you are more ideally suited for dermal fillers or facelift surgery, schedule a consultation at AMAE Plastic Surgery & Med Spa today, where board certified Troy, MI area plastic surgeon Dr. Ali will help decide which procedure is right for you.
