Dear Dr. Pierone, Considering Sculptra tx for my cheeks but very unsure about where I can have it done and the expense. I had a consultation with a plastic surgeon near where I live in Roanoke, VA who seems to be the only one in this area who has/ can do it, but she has only done it once for an hiv patient. I believe that I can get the product through the assistance program, however she charges $500 per session which will total $1500.00 for three sessions. I am disabled due to hiv and do not work. I am very concerned about the fact that she has only done this once before and also about the side effects some people online have claimed to have had from Sculptra.Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Hello, and thanks for posting.

This topic of affordability of the treatment sessions for Radiesse and Sculptra comes up all the time. It seems logical that if someone qualifies for assistance to receive the product, then they would probably have trouble affording the injection fees. I have no answer for this problem.

With regard to the Plastic Surgeon - if she has used Sculptra in other situations and has mastered the injection technique and understands the performance characteristics of this agent, then there should be no problem. But if she has little experience (fewer than 20 patients for example), then the chance of a problem would probably be higher than an injector with more experience with Sculptra since there is a learning curve to contend with.

However, there is another caveat some injectors have a lot of experience, but don't pursue education and skills improvement, so may keep repeating the same mistakes. So a less experienced injector with an aesthetic eye, meticulous technique, and quest for quality improvement may produce much better outcomes than an arrogant experienced injector who "knows it all" and is not open to change.

I hope that this information helps and best of luck to you!