As we age-wrinkles start to form on our faces, hands and elsewhere. Most of the wrinkles are formed because of three reasons – the sun damage, the repeated use of facial muscles and the degradation of those skin substances that keep the skin tight during the youth (like collagen and elastin proteins among others).
There are many options available in today’s advanced medical world. With the latest developments in the medical sciences, lasers can repair a lot of the sun damage by taking away the dead layer of the skin that the body replaces with the fresher new skin – giving you the youthful appearance. Similarly, Botox® and skin fillers can get rid of different kinds of wrinkles without having to go through any surgery. The good news is that most of these procedures are non-surgical, take only a few minutes to perform and you can resume your regular activities immediately after the procedure.
During your consultation, our doctors will guide you about different options and the best treatments in your particular situation.
Botox is a nonsurgical therapy that can make a remarkable difference in softening and virtually eliminating deep furrows and wrinkles between your brows, creases on your forehead, and crow's feet around your eyes.
Botox is a medicine that is injected with a very fine needle in the skin with very little or no discomfort to the patient. It is used very safely, simply and effectively. By relaxing the underlying muscles, Botox® reduces wrinkles. Botox® is a remarkable treatment for dynamic wrinkles resulting from repeated use of facial muscles.
BOTOX® acts as a nerve impulse blocker. Botox® actually prevents wrinkles from appearing by relaxing the underlying muscles so they don't contract. Botox® binds to the nerve endings and blocks impulses from the nerve to the tiny facial muscles that are related to expression lines. After treatment, the overlying skin remains smooth and unwrinkled while the untreated facial muscles contract in a normal fashion, allowing your normal facial expression to be unaffected.
BOTOX® therapy is a simple and safe procedure performed by our doctors in our clinic. The injection takes just minutes, and there is no significant pain, as we use extremely fine needles. No sedation or local anesthetic is required, and you can resume normal activities immediately. You can even drive yourself home or back to the office. Usually makeup can be reapplied before patients leave the clinic, and normal activities can be resumed immediately after the procedure. Some results from BOTOX® therapy will be seen in the first few hours, but it generally takes one to two weeks for the full effect to become apparent. BOTOX® treatment may be repeated a couple of times a year to maintain the desired effects.
Natural proteins like collagen and elastin, and a special substance called ‘hyaluronic acid’ form the support structure or the “filling material” of your skin. When these substances degrade with advancing age, wrinkles begin to appear. This loss is mostly attributed to aging, but smoking, exposure to the sun, pollution, health, heredity, and lifestyle also play major roles. Several “filler” products that contain one of these filling materials are available to fill the wrinkles. These include collagen injections and hyaluronic acid filler injections. Different brands of hyaluronic acid injections like Restylane®, Perlane®, Juvederm®, Puragen™,and Prevel® – are available to restore fullness and remove wrinkles appearing on the face.
Hyaluronic Acid or HA like Restylane® treatment has been used for years in the smile lines and marionette lines that develop around the mouth area, and to create fullness in the lips. Perlane® and Juvederm® are slightly more concentrated products that have been a popular treatment in Europe for deeper lines and wrinkles. Restylane®, Perlane® and Juvederm® are made up of non-animal based hyaluronic acid, a substance found naturally in the body, so no allergy testing is required. Hyaluronic acid binds to water, gradually causing the body’s own moisture to add volume in the treated area. These products are injected with a tiny needle just under the surface of the skin. Like your own “natural hyaluronic acid”, your body eventually breaks down and absorbs this injected material slowly in the next few months… so ongoing treatments are necessary to maintain results. Semi-permanent options include Aquamid® and Radiesse® which can last from 3 -5 years and are called the ‘semi-permanent’ fillers. These fillers are relatively newer addition to the anti-wrinkle therapy.
Treatment takes only 15-20 minutes. To make the injection painless, a topical numbing cream can be applied 1 hour prior to treatment, but normally there is minimal discomfort. Applying ice to the site after treatment helps minimize any swelling or bruising. Results of these products are immediate. Because people absorb these materials at varying rates, repeat treatments may be required between 3 months to 12-month intervals.
Yes, there are some permanent fillers available but most of them are not FDA approved. FDA stands for Food and Drug Administration of USA. It is a government regulatory body to ensure the safety and efficacy of medicines and materials used for patients. Radiesse® is one of the long term fillers approved by FDA in certain cases.
Permanent may mean permanent correction / improvement but may also result in some permanent problems as well. Some of permanent fillers like silicone injection on the face can be extremely dangerous in some cases and should usually be avoided. It is, therefore not recommended in every case especially when much safer and extensively used Hyaluronic Acid fillers like Restylane® are available and have long safety record. These fillers have been used in millions of people with out any significant problem. But in certain cases long-term filler may need to be used and that can be determined during consultation with Dr. Azim.
We can take fat out from where it is not needed like the bulging abdomen and can put it where it is needed like a depressed wrinkle, hollow cheeks or depressed cheek bones to make cheek bones higher. Since fat comes free of cost and is natural from your own body it is cheep and safe. As we age, our muscles and skin lose some of their elasticity, and the cushion of fat, which provide the foundation for smooth and creaseless skin, dissipates.
The resulting facial creases and depressions can be corrected by implanting some material to take the place of the lost fatty cushion. When one's own fat is used for implanting, the possibility of allergic reaction or rejection is eliminated. Fat transfer is an effective procedure in minimizing creases and grooves. It also can be used to augment lips, cheeks, the chin or earlobes (to help minimize tearing from wearing large earrings), recontour the face, and even adjust some body contours.
Fat transfer is an effective procedure in minimizing creases and grooves. It also can be used to augment lips, cheeks, the chin or earlobes (to help minimize tearing from wearing large earrings), recontour the face, and even adjust some body contours. Fat transfer is performed in our outpatient surgery center by our skilled doctors. A donor site is chosen based upon patient preference. The hips, buttocks, thighs or lower abdomen are areas in women where fat can easily be harvested. In men, the donor area is often the flank area above the hips. During the procedure, both the donor site and the recipient site (site where the fat will be transferred to) are treated with local anesthesia, to minimize discomfort. The duration of the procedure depends on the number and size of the locations being treated. A small amount of bruising may occur. Patients usually resume normal activities immediately or within a day, and return to strenuous sports or activities within a week.