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Are fillers extremely painful?

Tag Archives: fillers

lyzahLyzah, Registered Nurse

Myth 2: “Aren’t fillers extremely painful?”

No, fillers are not extremely painful.  In fact, we pride our practice on making every procedure as comfortable as possible. Not only do ALL of our fillers already contain a 1% Lidocaine mixture, but we also apply a strong topical numbing agent prior to injection. Our topical ointment is comprised of Lidocaine, Tetracaine, and Phenylephrine. We apply the ointment to the areas we will be treating and allow it to sit for at least 10-15 minutes to gain the numbing benefits. For most patients this achieves a completely numb experience with little discomfort if not. I also use ice sticks throughout the injection process to help decrease inflammation. Another great product we love is Arnica. Arnica is a homeopathic medication used to temporarily relieve bruising, swelling, and pain associated with tissue injury. I apply it to every filler patient before we finish, and also educate they use the topical form and/or the pill form as they recover. Lastly, I send everyone home with a travel size reusable gel ice pack to use for the next 24- 48 hours. So in fact, fillers are really easy. Most of my patients say “Wow I should have started this a long time ago”.

My preference for lip enhancement is to use injectible fillers. My two favorite fillers are Juvederm and Restylane.

I like these products because they are easy to use and they last a pretty long time, at least 1 year. Either can be placed in the office under a local dental block and it usually only takes about 15 to 20 minutes. I also like that the products give a 1:1 correction. In other words, when we inject the lip and plump it, what you see is what you get, which increases patient satisfaction. This way the patient can hold a hand mirror and make sure she gets exactly what she wants. In the past, with some of the collagens, we had to over-correct anticipating some absorption so our results were less certain.

There are permanent implantable lip plumpers but these have historically been plagued with palpability, extrusion, and infection problems. Personally, I prefer to stay away from these.

Fat is also a good filler choice. A small amount of fat can be harvested from your tummy or thigh and then re-injected. This is a very good technique and I think you will find some plastic surgeons who prefer this and others who prefer the Hyaluronic Fillers. Both are good.

Lee Corbett, MD

www.CorbettCosmeticSurgery.com

502.721.0330

All posts on this blog are authored by Louisville Restylane expert, Dr. Lee Corbett.

This is a pretty common question I  hear in my office. Women will come in with come concerns about their facial aging and want to know their options.

After eleven years of doing Face Lifts in Louisville, I have come to realize that there are a lot of women who want to look as good as they can, without surgery. In response, I have come up with a treatment plan that you through your options from least to most.

The ‘least’ end of the spectrum is better skin care products. I have a blog on prescription strength skin care products and I recommend you take a look at it. In brief, whatever you are buying at the cosmetic counters can’t compare to the skin care you can get from your plastic surgeon. Why? Because, by law, we can sell you products that are much stronger and thus much more effective. And, some component, like Retin-A, aren’t available without a presciption. So step 1 is to start on some good skin care.

After skin care, you are looking at deeper chemical peels and lasers. Though the methods by which they work are different, they have a common endpoint. That being that they wound your skin and when it heals it is better than it was before. Now these treatments carry a bit more downside on the recovery arena, particularly with the lasers. I deep peel or laser treatment can put you out of commission for 3 to 5 days.

If you have tried all of the above, and still aren’t seeing the improvement you would like, fillers and botox are options. Fillers and botox are office treatments that are quick, easy, and very effective. They are not permanent options but the cost has gotten low enough that many can afford to re-treat when necessary.

Last but not least is surgery. On the face we offer brow lifts, face lifts, eyelid tucks (blepharoplasty), and rhinoplasty (nose reshaping). For some, surgery is just never going to be an option, and that’s fine. But, there are a lot of possibilities and significant improvements are achievable. Of course the cost and downtime are greater, but the flip side is you do get what you pay for.

You can’t have a mini procedure, with a mini cost and a mini recovery and expect a maximum result. Sounds good but like most things in life, it doesn’t work that way…except for botox. That stuff is magic!

Lee Corbett, MD

www. CorbettCosmeticSurgery.com

502.721.0330

All posts on this blog are authored by Louisville cosmetic plastic surgeon Dr. Lee Corbett. Dr. Corbett specializes in cosmetic plastic surgery including facelifts, browlifts, blepharoplasy, Louisville Botox, Juvederm, Restylane, breast augmentation, breast lifts, breast reductions, body lifts, liposuction,  and tummy tucks.