BLOG

Restylane-L has arrived…

Sunday, July 4th, 2010

Restylane-L (Restylane with lidocaine, a numbing agent) is here. So far, so good.  Restylane-L’s numbing effects are a bit delayed and I’m not clear still if  the lidocaine really makes a significant difference. Most patients tell me they are pretty numb after an 30 min to an hour of topical lidocaine, but still feel some of the injections particularly around the corners of the mouth and near the upper smile lines. I’m not sure if the effects of Restylane-L will last as long (which in my experience is 9 to 12 mos and beyond), but for now we’re going with it. We’ve even seen a case of microscopic retained Restylane 2 years later during Mohs surgery.

Correct placement is much more important than quantity. I once had a patient younger than I am get 3 syringes put in her face at another office. In the end, she ended up spending more money and had a complication requiring laser treatments. Juvederm XC is the equivalent of Restylane-L. In the end, both Juvederm and Restylane are great products with no discernable difference in my opinion. Both look very natural in the end.

A lot of people also ask about Sculptra and fat transfer. I do perform fat transfer, but not Sculptra. I still think hyaluronic acid is the best way to go. I don’t perform Sculptra for several reasons, that being said, it is not because it isn’t a good product. It is much more expensive than hyaluronic acid fillers. With the amount of money it would cost, one could get many syringes of hyaluronic fillers. It also has a higher risk of nodules and is not used in the lips. Fat transfer is more invasive and because a large quantity of fat must be injected in order to get reasonable results, you can look younger but fatter/chipmunky due to unpredictable resorption. It is somewhat unpredictable in its final result in comparison to hyaluronic acid.

Tags: restylane los angeles, restylane pasadena, restylane san fernando valley, restylane santa monica, restylane sherman oaks
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »