Our Services

Dermal Fillers

Our Services

What are Dermal Fillers ?

Description

Dermal fillers are utilized to help fill deep creases and/or restore volume of the face. In Dr. Patel’s practice, they are commonly used for rejuvenation of the lower half of the face. Areas that can be treated include cheeks, lips, nasolabial folds, and tear troughs among others. In Dr. Patel’s practice, he only uses hyaluronic acid compounds such as Restylane® or Juvéderm® to treat his patients. Hyaluronic acid is already produced by the body for joint and skin health.

FAQs

While Botox® can treat lines and wrinkles created with animation or movement of the face (typically the upper face), dermal fillers better treat lines/wrinkles that naturally occur at rest (typically the lower face). Dermal fillers can also provide volume to fill depressions such as the tear trough or nasolabial folds or to provide fullness to the lips or cheeks.

You should notice results immediately after dermal filler however some of these results will be due to tissue swelling. Expect the swelling to improve over the course of 1 week or so to see your true results.

Dermal fillers can last anywhere from 6 months to 1 year, sometimes even longer. It will depend on which product is used and what areas are treated. There have been cases of dermal fillers even lasting for more than 5 years. In your consultation with Dr. Patel, he can discuss with you how long to expect the results to last.

You will likely develop some degree of tissue swelling for up to 1 week after the procedure before most of it resolves. Although every attempt is made to avoid bruising, it still may occur. It is imperative to avoid any blood thinning products for 1 week prior to treatment with the approval of your medical doctor. To be safe, Dr. Patel suggests not having any social functions for 10 days after treatment.

Techniques are utilized to make the procedure painless as possible such as numbing creams, ice, distraction techniques, using small caliber needles and occasionally, injection of anesthetics. Dr. Patel certainly wants the procedure to be as comfortable as possible for you. Having said that, certain sites of injection can be more sensitive than other areas.

The goal with dermal fillers is to achieve as natural a result as possible. Dr. Patel’s goals for his patients are subtle enhancements, not complete change in one’s appearance. There are occasions where the patient’s goals and what Dr. Patel believes it is aesthetically pleasing are not aligned. In these scenarios, Dr. Patel will politely decline to treat the patient.

Dr. Patel’s preference for hyaluronic acid products is due to the fact that these agents are reversible. Another compound can be injected to dissolve the filler if needed. If permanent fillers are utilized and the patient is not pleased with the results, then surgery is the only option to remove the product.

In general, dermal fillers are very safe with risks of severe complications being quite low. Having said that, the most severe complication of dermal fillers is vascular occlusion. This means the blood flow to a certain area of the face is impeded, potentially causing necrosis to the skin. Worst case scenario is a vascular occlusion to the eye causing loss of vision. Majority of these complications are caused by injections of filler in the upper half of the face such as between the eyebrows. Therefore, Dr. Patel will only treat the lower face with fillers to minimize such risks.

Dr. Patel is an awesome surgeon that goes over and beyond for his patients. I was originally supposed. to have a skin graft under my lower eyelid. He knew I wouldn’t be satisfied with the appearance and he explained everything to me so he tried something totally different during surgery. I’m definitely glad he was able to correct my lower lid. I just had surgery on my upper lid for a scar revision and everything looks nice. It’s hard coming across a doctor that’s willing to make you satisfied and correct the issue vs just correcting the issue. I can’t thank Patel enough for correcting my issues.
Shakeima S.
Dr. Patel gets my highest recommendation for reconstructive surgery on my lower eyelid, which had 60% of my lower eyelid, including a nickel sized piece of skin, removed underneath the eye, due to cancer. Now, my eyelid looks just like the other eyelid and he did it without a skin graft!. Most people comment, “You would never know you had reconstructive surgery.” Dr and I were very pleased with the results. Dr. Patel was very professional, is talented in his field, and thorough in explaining the procedure and follow-up instructions. He was understanding and sensitive to my concerns about my face. He also had humor, which helped when I was anxious.
Colleen H.
Dr. Patel and his staff were wonderful to work with. I had DCR surgery (Dacryocystorhinostomy) to create a new tear drain. Dr. Patel is friendly, kind, knowledgeable, and easy to understand. The staff assisted me greatly in scheduling surgery and with followup appointments. I am so happy with a perfect outcome of my new tear drain. No more tears constantly running down my face.
Diana M.