Seattle, Bellevue Facial Fillers: Restylane, Perlane, Radiesse, Sculptra, and Bellafill®

• Fillers and Volumizers
• Why Fillers?
• Maximizing Comfort!
• Fillers in a Nutshell
• Restylane
• Perlane
• Juvederm
• Belotero
• Voluma
• Radiesse
• Sculptra
• Selphyl
• Fat Injection
• Voluma vs Juverderm vs Bellafill®
• FAQ

Fillers and Volumizers

The field of facial fillers has grown over the last twenty years to an amazing array of exciting products. These volume enhancing substances answer the popular desire for non-invasive, minimal downtime rejuvenation. Filling agents replace the age-related loss of the skin’s natural components such as fat, water, collagen, and hyaluronic acid.

In Dr. Zemplenyi’s practice, fillers including Restylane®, Versa®, Teoxane®, Juvederm®, Radiesse®, and Voluma® are each used to best effect. Each of these substances has its own advantages for wrinkle reduction and plumping treatment in various areas of the face.

Fat injection using a patient’s own fat transferred from one area of the body to another is another alternative to replace lost facial volume. Dr. Zemplenyi also uses PRF, a platelet-rich gel matrix, to stimulate the body’s natural collagen production.

Additionally, injection of any of these fillers may be combined with neuromodulators such as Botox®, Xeomin®, and Dysport® to relax muscles for further rejuvenation.

Click Here to View Our Facial Fillers Gallery

Why Fillers?

Most fillers consist of the naturally occurring skin component hyaluronic acid, with volumizing effects apparent right after injection. Fillers can be injected into multiple areas of the face where they are ideal for smoothing wrinkles and restoring lost volume.

Depressed scars, including some acne and traumatic scars, as well as hollowed or sagging tissues, can be remodeled with non-invasive volume replacement using a variety of fillers.

The duration of fillers’ effects depends on several variables including the site of injection, the natural rate of degradation and absorption, and the patient’s metabolism. All of these substances are absorbable by the body and therefore require periodic re-injection.

At the Bel-Red Center for Aesthetic Surgery in Bellevue, Dr. Zemplenyi performs the injections himself, carefully considering the patient’s facial contours and areas of concern. The specific filler selected depends on the treatment area, the patient’s goals, and budget.

The amount of filler injected depends on the amount of correction required. Because volume loss increases with age, patients in their thirties typically require less filler than someone in their fifties or later.

Maximizing Comfort!

In addition to careful selection and placement of the volumizing substance, Dr. Zemplenyi uses modern techniques to maximize patient comfort. He uses the smallest and thinnest needles and cannulas available, combines topical anesthesia with skin cooling, and utilizes a vibratory anesthesia device to block pain receptors in the injection area.

Some bruising can occur after treatment. Dr. Zemplenyi often recommends Arnica montana tablets one day prior to injection and advises avoiding aspirin and other non-steroidal medications such as Ibuprofen (Motrin), naprosyn ( Aleve) for one week before treatment.

Results are visible immediately, and Dr. Zemplenyi works closely with patients to achieve results that align with their aesthetic goals

Fillers in a Nutshell

Restylane®, Versa®, Teoxane RH1-4®, Juvederm® and Voluma®, and are hyaluronic acid fillers. These fillers are especially useful for patients who have not previously received fillers because their effects can be reversed using a special enzyme hyalorunidase if necessary.

Voluma is a thicker hyaluronic acid filler approved by the FDA for cheek augmentation. Its effects may last up to two years if used in a larger volume. Other fillers have similar properties such as Restylane, Conform and Teoxane RH4.

Radiesse® is a hydroxyl apatite filler that is an excellent option for areas near bone, such as the mid-cheek and jawline, where it helps offset jowls and restore facial structure. When used diluted it produces both volume and collagen stimulation.

Any filler treatment can also be combined with neuromodulators such as Botox®, Xeomin®, and Dysport® to reduce muscle activity and soften wrinkles in areas like the forehead and around the eyes.

Restylane®, Restylane®, used successfully in Canada and Europe since the late 1990s, was approved by the FDA in the United States in 2004. It is a clear gel made of hyaluronic acid that injects smoothly into the skin.

Because hyaluronic acid occurs naturally in the body, the risk of allergic reaction is extremely low. Restylane is commonly used to treat nasolabial folds, tear troughs beneath the eyes, and to enhance lip volume.

Results typically last around six months before the filler is gradually broken down by the body. Other Restyne products have joined the Restylane family over years, each having specific properties such as elasticity and variable firmness.

Various hyaluronic acid fillers from different product families are useful for adding volume to the cheeks, correcting hollow areas around the eyes, improving volume loss in the temples, and improving the jaw line

Perlane ®, released in the US in 2007, is a sister substance of Restylane containing larger particles of hyaluronic acid in a higher concentration. Perlane may be used in the same sites as Restylane and Juvederm but is injected into a deeper plane under the skin surface. It is therefore excellent for volumetric augmentation (correction) of cheeks, orbital rim hollowing and wasting of the temples. It may also induce the body’s own collagen synthesis.

Juvederm ® is another hyaluronic acid filler released in the United States in 2007 by the FDA. Its hyaluronic acid draws water into the skin, restoring a more youthful appearance to the face. With its soft texture, Juvederm is very effective in plumping thinning lips and lifting smile lines around the mouth.

Belotero® is a Swiss-made hyaluronic acid filler distributed by Merz. Softer than Juvederm, it is especially useful for injection in the tear trough and the fine vertical lines of the upper lip. It appears to have a shorter duration than the other hyaluronic acids.

Voluma®, a French-made hyaluronic acid filler made for Allergan, had been available in Canada for about four years before being released in the US at the end of 2013. It is similar to Juvederm but has been specifically FDA-approved to add volume to the cheek area, adding fullness to restore a more youthful contour for up to two years in some patients.

Radiesse ® is a synthetic product consisting of microspheres of calcium hydroxyl apatite, a naturally occurring component of bone matrix. Introduced in the US in 2006, this innovative product lasts longer than most other non-permanent fillers. Radiesse is best used deposited deep, adjacent to bone and is thus especially valuable in enhancing the cheeks and the mid-face. As with hyaluronic based fillers, there are no associated allergic reactions with Radiesse since its components occur naturally in the body. It come packaged in a 1.5cc syringe as opposed the usual 1cc packaging of other products, enabling greater volumization of the facial area. The unique injection technique, vibratory nerve blocking, cooling, and local anesthesia routinely used at Bel-Red Center for Aesthetic Surgery provides a practically pain-free experience for our Bellevue and Seattle cosmetic patients even when larger volumes are injected. In some patients augmentation lasts one to two years, especially if the product is deposited deep adjacent to bone. Radiesse is highly effective and FDA-approved for improvement of facial folds as well as for volume augmentation of the cheek lipo-atrophy seen with the aging process or in patients with HIV.

Sculptra ®Sculptra®, known in Europe as Nufill, was approved in the United States in 2004. It was initially used to treat facial fat loss associated with HIV but is now widely used for cosmetic volume restoration.

Sculptra contains L-polylactic acid, a biodegradable substance that stimulates the body to produce its own collagen. This collagen production gradually restores lost facial volume and can provide results lasting two years or longer.

Treatment typically involves several sessions spaced about four weeks apart to achieve optimal collagen stimulation. Dr. Zemplenyi prefers to used diluted Radiesse for induction of new collagen synthesis.

Malar (cheek) augmentation with Radiesse and Sculptra

Selphyl ® is a platelet-rich gel matrix that can be combined with hyaluronic acids to potentiate collagen synthesis. Sometimes called the “Vampire filler” or the “Vampire facelift,” Selphyl uses only the body’s own natural platelets to produce collagen and improve the skin’s appearance. This innovative approach uses a small amount of one’s own blood (similar to a blood draw for lab work), from which to extract platelets which are then combined with the Selphyl gel matrix. Dr. Zemplenyi then injects the platelet-rich plasma gel into the soft tissue areas being treated. Growth factor proteins released by platelets induce the body to produce collagen, plumbing skin and smoothing wrinkles. Selphyl effectively treats hollowed tear troughs where the thin skin may remain plumped for up to two years after treatment.

Another new method used for the benefit of Bel-Red Center’s Eastside, Bellevue and Seattle patients involves using the micro-needling technique to introduce Selphyl gel into the skin to stimulate natural collagen production. Sequential skin treatment with Rejuvapen microneedling can achieve a smoother, fresher complexion.

PRP and PRF

PRF is a platelet-rich gel matrix, also sometimes referred to as a “vampire filler” or “vampire facelift.” It uses the patient’s own blood to extract platelets that are then combined with a gel matrix and injected into targeted areas.

These platelets release growth factors that stimulate collagen production, improving skin texture and restoring volume. Selphyl is often used to treat hollow tear troughs and can maintain results for up to two years.

PRF can also be applied using microneedling techniques to stimulate collagen production and improve skin texture.

Fat Injection (Lipo Transfer)

Fat injection transfers fat from one part of the body, such as the abdomen or thighs, to areas of the face where volume has been lost. The harvested fat is carefully processed and injected into areas such as the cheeks, eyelids, and deep facial folds.

Fat transfer provides a natural filler option using the patient’s own tissue. Results vary depending on the treatment area and how well the transferred fat survives.

Some swelling and bruising may occur after treatment, but these effects typically improve within a week.

Voluma Juverderm and Bellafill® – A Comparison of the Long-Lasting Facial Fillers

While we may not be able to turn the clock back to the squeezable chubby cheeks of a two year old, the panoply of volume enhancers and facial fillers available today can restore the fuller, plumper look of a younger you. Among the many dermal filler products available, the two described below are long lasting, not needing reinjection several time a year.
FAQ