Juvederm Voluma™ XC is an injectable filler recently approved by the FDA and it has this plastic surgeon’s stamp of approval. I’ve been using it in my Boston office with very happy patients. Voluma is the first and only filler approved to temporarily correct age-related volume loss in the cheek. I’ve found that by subtly augmenting the bony area of the cheek, I’m slightly lifting the the lower area of the cheek that has “fallen down” with time and gravity. This creates a more youthful appearance of the face and the results are instant. Additionally, results are touted as lasting up to two years.
As with any filler, understanding its limitations and proper patient selection are key. The “lift” obtained with Voluma is nowhere close to that which can be accomplished with a surgical facelift, and to try to push any type of filler beyond what it is capable of doing is going to result in some very abnormal and unnatural looking patients. If you’re trying to lift a jowl or smooth out a nasolabial fold by augmenting a cheek bone, there’s only so much you can do before the cheek starts to look too augmented. A small “apple” of a cheek may stave off a surgical facelift for a year or two, but two giant “apples” where your cheek bones used to be are going to keep not just the doctor but everyone away.
Also, more than anywhere else in the face, filling the cheek area requires an expert understanding of the anatomy in order to minimize the chance of an intravascular injection. Having practiced plastic surgery here in Boston since 2010 I have operated on the face for many years now, I routinely see the vessels that I know I need to avoid, and I find that this helps me immensely when I plan injections in this area.
If facial rejuvenation is something that you’ve been thinking about, or perhaps you’ve heard something around Boston about Voluma™, I’d be excited to meet with you and talk about it. More than ever before, the options for facial rejuvenation are expanding, and it’s an exciting time to be part of the aesthetic field.
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