Injected Sculptra® aesthetic can replace deep hollows of the cheeks. In Europe, New-fill is a very popular treatment option to cosmetically fill in deep creases and wrinkles of the face, and U.S. physicians are also using it. Sculptra® is made up of Poly L lactic acid, which is broken down by the body to carbon dioxide and lactic acid. It comes as a powder in a vial that has to be mixed 3 to 36 hours before being injected into the face, below the skin’s surface. Immediately following the treatment, most people are elated to see their crease and wrinkles gone. Initial improvement is mostly due to mild swelling, but the product delivers a lasting result.
Over the days following injection, the swelling comes down significantly and most patients will require another treatment in a few weeks. Patients who continue with the product will take 2 to 3 treatments in order to gain significant correction. The results appear to get better over time, and weeks after the treatment, tiny bumps might be felt under their skin, but they shouldn’t be visible. Over the last year the recommendations for preparing the product have changed and the occurrence of the bumps has decreased.
The European experience has shown the correction should last approximately 2 years and possibly even longer. There is also evidence that the body will stimulate collagen formation at the treatment site, perhaps providing for some permanent correction. The disadvantages to Sculptra® aesthetic include the treatment price, and the results are not immediate. If you want to look good by the weekend, we recommend a hyaluronic product, but if you have deep hollows around the upper or lower cheeks, pre-jowl area (often appears as sagging around the jawline), or nasolabial folds (deep wrinkles that stretch from the bottom of the nose to the corners of the mouth), Sculptra® may be a non-surgical alternative.
While the Chicago Center for Facial Plastic Surgery does not use sculptra for small adjustments such as plumping lips. Sculptra is often recommended for survivors of HIV/ AIDS or other conditions which trigger lipoatrophy, the overall hollowing of the face. Sculptra helps to restore or improve the appearance of this extreme volume loss and depletion of facial fat.
