January 25, 2013 | Cosmetic Surgery Fads
2 minute read
We often get calls about various procedures that have been heavily advertised directly to consumers, including the following procedures noted in this article in Allure magazine: Vampire Lift (injecting patient’s own blood plasma), SmartLipo (Laser Liposuction), Stem-cell Lift and Artefill (for lips). Unfortunately, the majority of these procedures do not have scientific evidence of effectiveness and have not been written up in peer-reviewed medical journals by widely respected facial plastic surgeons. Sadly, we actually see patients that have tried some of these “fad” procedures and now require revisions by Dr. Kridel. The Allure magazine article, titled “The 10 most overrated trends in cosmetic surgery”, provides an interesting overview of many procedures that Dr. Kridel and Dr. Angela Sturm-O’Brien do not perform or recommend with one exception — Ulthera. In the article the criticism about Ulthera was based on patient discomfort (and not about poor results). Since this article was published in mid-2012, Ulthera received FDA clearance to non-invasively lift lax tissue on the neck and under the chin, in addition to the FDA clearance they already had for non-invasive eyebrow lift. Ulthera also completed a system upgrade — Ulthera Amplify — to increase effectiveness and reduce patient discomfort. At FPSA we have the new Ulthera Amplify system and Dr. Russell Kridel and Dr. Angela Sturm-O’Brien have found that the majority of patients do not require medication for treatment. However, for even greater comfort during Ultherapy, we can also apply topical cream to the treatment areas. Dr. Kridel has also found great success using Sculptra for patients with hollow cheek areas. However, like stated in this article, Dr. Kridel absolutely does not recommend Sculptra for use in the lips.
The best advice we can provide to patients about the latest cosmetic surgery fads — Buyer Beware. Stay away from unproven, unscientific plastic surgery procedures and always seek out an experienced, board-certified facial plastic surgeon.
— Kirin, Facial Plastic Surgery Associates
