As I have been traveling the world over the past five years to perform surgery and injectable procedures, I have increasingly developed my injectable technique because many patients in these remote countries cannot have surgery since I’m not there long enough to perform follow-up examinations. Therefore, I have had a tremendous amount of experience with injectable procedures. In the foreign countries that I go to, I have also seen many of the local physicians perform their injectable procedures, and I have seen the variations in products as well as techniques that are used. So, I have a vast amount of experience that I am very fortunate to have.
I have developed my injectable technique to enable me to create extraordinary definition in facial sculpting using this in-office technique. As such, I have gained a lot of recognition in foreign countries for being one of the world’s top injectors and have much interest and requests to perform facial injectable procedures. Since I am also very experienced with facial implant surgery, patients often ask me which is the better technique, the in-office facial sculpting procedure or facial implants. In fact, I find myself having this discussion with patients almost on a daily basis.
The in-office facial sculpting procedure allows me to enhance the bony structure of the cheeks, jaw, and chin to create the appropriate highlights and contours to maximize the facial aesthetic. This procedure takes approximately 10 to 30 minutes, depending on how extensive the procedure needs to be based on the patient’s desires and anatomy. Usually, patients look great by the next day with minimal bruising and swelling. This is the major benefit of the in-office facial sculpting procedure, whereas facial implant surgery has a much longer healing period, sometimes taking up to a month or two before all the swelling resolves. Of course, the benefits of facial surgery are that it allows me to give a permanent result and more significant definition to and enhancement of the bony structure than the in-office procedure provides. Facial surgery is a more expensive procedure; however, over the course of a lifetime someone can expect to spend more money if they have the in-office facial sculpting procedure repeatedly done over many years.
In summary, both techniques can give outstanding results and can make a person very happy with their facial appearance. Making the right choice depends on an individual’s desires, goals, and obligations, including their ability to take time off from work and recover if they are hoping to have the facial surgical procedure.