Dermal Fillers

Tampa, St Petersburg, and Clearwater, Florida Facial Rejuvenation

As we age, many of us grow unhappy with our facial appearance. Folds and wrinkles begin to show in some places, while other places lose volume, creating a worn, aged appearance, especially in the eye region. Dermal fillers are a way to counteract these effects of aging to help restore the youthful appearance given by smooth facial contours and robust facial volume.

If you feel facial folds or lost volume in your face makes you look prematurely old or perpetually tired, you may be able to turn back the clock with dermal fillers. To learn whether dermal fillers can help you, please call or email Dr. Antonio J. Gayoso at Gayoso Plastic Surgery today and schedule a consultation.

What Dermal Fillers Correct

Dermal fillers can work correct two symptoms of facial aging: depressed skin folds and a loss of volume in the facial area. They can also be used to correct places where lacking volume contributes to an unaesthetic appearance. Dermal fillers are used to:

• Fill hollows under the eyes
• Diminish nasolabial folds (parentheses lines around the mouth)
• Plump small or thin lips
• Accentuate cheek bones
• Augment a small or receding chin

Not all fillers are good for all purposes. Fillers should be considered temporary solutions--treatments will have to be repeated to maintain results.

What Are Dermal Fillers

Dermal fillers are injectable materials made of biologically-derived or biocompatible material. At Gayoso Plastic Surgery, we commonly use three different fillers:

Juvéderm XC® is a smooth gel made from hyaluronic acid, a chemical naturally found in the skin, eyes, joints and elsewhere. Hyaluronic acid in the skin decreases with age, which contributes to the skin's difficulty in retaining moisture. Because it is a natural ingredient, it is absorbed fairly quickly by the body. However, it is capable of hold a significant amount of water, so as it is absorbed it uses water molecules to maintain its volume, which helps the filler to have a longer lifespan of effective results. Juvéderm is commonly used for nasolabial folds, hollows under the eyes, and lip augmentation. Its lifespan is 6-9 months, shorter in the lips

Radiesse® is a composite filler made up of microspheres of calcium-hydroxy-apatite (CHA) and methylcellulose gel. CHA is the main material in dental enamel, is commonly used as a bone filler and nutritional supplement, so it is highly friendly to the body. Methylcellulose is a common food thickener. When Radiesse is used, the gel is absorbed quickly, but the CHA is absorbed very slowly. The body naturally fills in around the CHA with collagen, so the space remains filled as long as the CHA is in place and shortly afterwards, giving Radiesse a longer lifespan than most other fillers. Because the spheres can be visible under the skin it is not appropriate for all uses. Radiesse is used for cheek and chin augmentation, and lasts 1-2 years.

Artefill® is another composite filler. It is made up of polymethylmethacrylate and collagen. You need to have an allergen test before getting Artefill. It works similar to Radiesse, only instead of having spheres that are absorbed slowly, it has spheres that aren't absorbed at all. The promise of Artefill is that it can give potentially permanent correction of facial folds or loss of volume in the face.  Artefill is used in the same places as Radiesse.

Why Choose Dr. Gayoso for Your Dermal Fillers

As a general rule, dermal fillers are very safe. The only complications typically seen are minor swelling, an allergic reaction, or mistakes made by injectors. This makes it very important that you work with an injector who not only has experience with the filler you are using, but also has a good understanding of the facial anatomy and the principles of augmentation for improving facial appearance with dermal fillers.

Dr. Antonio J. Gayoso is a board-certified plastic surgeon with extensive knowledge of facial anatomy. He has helped thousands of patients from Tampa, Clearwater, St Petersburg, and across Florida to get the benefits of facial rejuvenation treatments like dermal fillers.

To learn more about dermal fillers and Dr. Gayoso, please schedule a facial rejuvenation consultation at Gayoso Plastic Surgery today.