Nonsurgical modalities to treat the aging face

Optimal Changes Seen in Patients After Treatment With Poly- l -Lactic Acid: A Retrospective Descriptive Study

BACKGROUND

Poly- l -lactic acid (PLLA) is a biostimulator that enhances collagen production and leads to volume restoration. It became popular because of its improvement of facial wrinkles and long-lasting effect, although the specific visible changes it causes in the facial area are not fully described.

OBJECTIVE

To identify and characterize the visible changes resulting from injecting PLLA into the facial area.

METHODS

A list of 678 patients who underwent 2 to 3 treatments with PLLA injections in this center between 2021 and 2022 were retrieved. After 2 rounds of evaluations, 31 independent international evaluators described the 3 main changes they observed in the before-and-after images (taken approximately 7 months after the last injection session) of the 12 patients with the most significant improvement.

RESULTS

A total of 1,015 descriptions were received. They were divided into categories based upon similarity. The main detected changes were better contouring and enhancement of the lateral face, a lifting effect and secondary impact on the nasolabial fold, and improvement of skin texture and skin firmness.

CONCLUSION

Poly- l -lactic acid injections were judged to be effective for contouring, lifting, and improving skin texture in the facial area. Further research is needed to validate these results and create an assessment scale for PLLA injections.

The Surgical Lips Deformity Corrected with Hyaluronic Fillers: A Case Report

BACKGROUND:

Hyaluronic filler is a sterile, biodegradable, viscoelastic, isotonic, transparent injectable gel implant which was approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 1996. It is used for face reconstruction and modelling.

CASE PRESENTATION:

We report the case of a 40-year-old Serbian woman who presented after surgery of cleft lip, primary and secondary palate. We performed a biphasic therapy; in the first stage in the zone semimucosis lips is initially carried incision scar tissue. The second stage is placed hyaluronan implant.

CONCLUSION:

This case illustrates that, although hyaluronic fillers used mainly for correction of healthy tissue can be successfully used in the treatment of postoperative scars.

A novel approach to structural facial volume replacement

Improved understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the aging face has laid the foundation for adopting an earlier and more comprehensive approach to facial rejuvenation, shifting the focus from individual wrinkle treatment and lift procedures to a holistic paradigm that considers the entire face and its structural framework. This article presents an overview of a comprehensive method to address facial aging. The key components to the reported strategy for improving facial cosmesis include, in addition to augmentation of volume loss, protection with sunscreens and antioxidants; promotion of epidermal cell turnover with techniques such as superficial chemical peels; microlaser peels and microdermabrasion; collagen stimulation and remodeling via light, ultrasound, or radiofrequency (RF)-based methods; and muscle control with botulinum toxin. For the treatment of wrinkles and for the augmentation of pan-facial dermal lipoatrophy, several types of fillers and volumizers including hyaluronic acid (HA), autologous fat, and calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA) or injectable poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) are available. A novel bimodal, trivector technique to restore structural facial volume loss that combines supraperiosteal depot injections of volume-depleted fat pads and dermal/subcutaneous injections for panfacial lipoatrophy with PLLA is presented. The combination of treatments with fillers; toxins; light-, sound-, and RF-based technologies; and surgical procedures may help to forestall the facial aging process and provide more natural results than are possible with any of these techniques alone.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE V

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Refining the goals of oculofacial rejuvenation with dynamic ultrasonography

Volume enhancement/restoration addresses a key component of facial aging and plays an increasingly central role in facial rejuvenation. Advancing our understanding of the structure and morphology of facial aging-and the changes that can be induced with currently-available fillers-will optimize treatment and provide a consensus for appropriate selection of agents and procedures. By elucidating anatomic relationships-particularly dynamic relationships-ultrasonography may facilitate the selection and application of rejuvenation agents and procedures such as lower eyelid blepharoplasty with hyaluronic acid reinforcement of the middle lamella and lateral canthal retinaculum, en glove lysis and dermal fat grafting in the retractor plane for lower eyelid retraction, "posterior girdle" effect with high-viscosity fillers for malar festoons, dynamic analysis of hyaluronic acid within the levator plane for upper eyelid retraction, and serial distribution and integration of autologous fat injection in the lower lid compartments. In this article, the authors describe use of dynamic high-resolution ultrasonography as a tool in defining and improving the outcomes of periocular facial rejuvenation.