Fillers vs Facelifts
Hyaluronic acid fillers?
Hyaluronic acid injections are widespread and constitute the most performed non surgical aesthetic procedure worldwide, because of the low procedure and down time, the minimal post-procedural pain and their lower cost compared to surgery.
However, there is a limit to what injectables can accomplish. Taking up loose skin by injecting enough volume instead of surgically tightening it is popular today among non-surgeons (the “liquid facelift”).
Depending on the severity of tissue descent and facial fat atrophy, a facelift may be a better alternative. Fillers are most effective in patients younger than fifty years old as they do not have enough tissue laxity to warrant a facelift and/or neck lifts
What can be solved with hyaluronic acid fillers?
Fillers are volumizing agents, therefore they address surface depression such as folds and atrophied facial fat pads in the cheeks, chin, brows and temples.
What can be solved with hyaluronic acid fillers?
Tissue laxity in the face and neck: trying to take up skin excess by overfilling the face is a bad idea as this has the same effect as massive weight loss has on the abdominal skin (more sagging).
Jowl formation is caused by ligament attenuation and space expansion in the lower face, therefore, the best we can do is camouflage it by injecting in front of it or contouring the jawline. Fillers do not treat the root cause of jowls, all they do is give a heavy squared lower third that ages the face instead of rejuvenating it.
Misguided efforts to avoid surgery by overusing fillers can result in an unnatural “done” appearance. Patients compound this problem out of a natural instinct to avoid surgery if at all possible.
Misuse of fillers in the face may lead to:
Bloated cheeks that lack definition.
Overfilled superficial fat pads that impair facial expression due to tissue stiffness (the “small eyes” after cheek fillers).
Distorted facial proportions (heavier lower face, wider cheeks, pointy chin, and deeper folds).
Tissue laxity after filler dissolution if too much volume of fillers are injected.
Is it really cheaper?
Without a doubt, hyaluronic acid fillers can never accomplish what a facelift can, in terms of results and longevity.
For those who believe that injectables are a cheaper alternative to a facelift, fillers can actually become a cumulatively more expensive option than surgery. So long-term, it does not make sense.
Facelifts carry risks too but injectables carry a compound higher risk to infection, bruising and swelling (cumulative risk = small risk x number of procedures).
Each operates within the boundaries that their tools allow and have a different perspective, and the best results are achieved when there is thoughtful, close collaboration between the two.
There’s the cost analysis to make it clearer.
Average cost of a facelift/necklift = 6000$
Average number of syringes in a fifty year old patient with classic hallmarks of aging (cheek and temples deflation, Nasolabial folds/marionette lines) = 4
Average cost of hyaluronic acid injectables per treatment= 900 $.
Average number of treatments per year= 2
Cost of fillers per year= 1800$
Average longevity of a facelift = 11 years
Cost of a facelift per year = 6000/11= 545$
Total cost of fillers for 11 years = 1800x11= 19800$
