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Ask the Experts about Facial Wasting
Face lift best?
Jul 9, 2008
I have only been on Atripla for five months and although it is suppost to be the least likely to cause or contribute to facial wasting I appear to be one of the unlucky ones. My eyes are sinking and my cheeks have no fat left on them. I now have two distinct lines from my nose down to the corner of my lips. I am 49 this fall and am trying to come to terms with "normal aging" and what is Lipo causing. After much reading on this forum and at my age would you agree a full "face lift" is likely to reap the best longest term results? I live in Edmonton Alberta Canada.
Response from Dr. Pierone
No, a face-lift is a last resort for both facial lipoatrophy and the normal aging process.
Face-lift surgery is less commonly performed because fillers (all or any of them) are transforming the facial cosmetic world. The use of facial fillers is expanding rapidly (despite the poor economy) because of lower cost and rapid results. Other reasons the traditional face-lift is dropping in popularity the high cost, inconsistent results, and the "pulled look" that may result.
Although we don't have long-term data on the semi-permanent fillers, they last longer than one year, and may last quite a bit longer. Sculptra in particular is accumulating long-term objective data on durability. If a long-term result is of most importance to you then permanent fillers like silicon or PMMA are options as well.
I hope this information helps and best of luck!
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