Q: I want to rejuvenate my face and look less tired. How can I tell if injectable fillers will help me or if I need to undergo a full facelift?

In the last few years the public has been inundated with miraculous solutions to help ward off the aging process. This is rapidly growing industry and as such can be confusing and even sometimes deceptive. Injectables? BOTOX®? Facelift? Minifacelift? Short Scar Facelift? It’s pretty overwhelming. It would take hours and an extensive consultation with a plastic surgeon to sort this all out and identify what’s really best for you. But, let’s try to give you a head start.

• BOTOX® paralyzes (temporarily) only those muscles which have been identified as causing undesirable wrinkles. It can make lines softer or disappear completely if they aren’t too deep.
• Injectables can be one of a number of different substances, but they are all used to fill in lines, hollows, creases or other deficiencies. They can also be used to augment or sculpt areas of the face such as the lips, cheeks or cheekbones. This can restore a youthful fullness of the face and sometimes offer a subtle lift of surrounding tissues.

Choosing between injectables and surgery can be a daunting task, but the differences are straightforward. Surgery (facelift etc.) is more expensive (in the short term) but will provide a more lasting effect. It also provides a substantial tightening of the jawline and neck that injectables cannot provide. There is also recovery which can require up to two weeks. Injectables, on the other hand, provide very little actual tightening of sagging skin and may need to be repeated annually or sometimes even more often. They can, however, offer specific wrinkle correction or volume replacement with virtually no down time and at less expense.

That’s the “keep it simple” answer. Visit your plastic surgeon for the details and for what really meets your needs.

Well, my staff, my daughter and I have have just returned from Haiti, and we have all been moved beyond words. The medical/surgical aspect of the trip was rewarding.  By closing limb threatening wounds, we have certainly touched many individuals and hopefully changed their lives a little, but the close-up view of Port au Prince has had a far more profound effect on me.  Our daily commute to and from the hospital was a full 2-3 hours which I spent in the bed of a pickup getting a truly panoramic feel (and smell) of the city and culture. I appreciate so much more now that the needs of this entire culture are monumental.  I spent hours struggling with how to help these people in a more lasting way than simply patching the residual physical wounds of the earthquake.  I  realized that no form of aid can provide a lasting benefit until the Haitian people know how to use it. Education is the clear and obvious solution.  As a surgeon, I have always been victim of the immediate gratification syndrome, so it took a great deal of processing to realize that changing Haiti will take years, probably generations to achieve.  Clearly, the only hope is to educate the future teachers, politicians, etc who can eventually make a difference.  Through their school, my children have been involved with Life and Hope Haiti ( www.lifeandhopehaiti.org), an organization which will undoubtedly make a difference over time.  My family and I hope to continue our efforts to make a difference.  We’re sponsoring a child and hope to visit as family again this year. – Dr. Richard Zeff

Below we have posted a sampling of photos from the trip.  To view more, we invite you to visit our practice Facebook page.