Injectables or Surgery?

A lot of people think facial plastic surgeons have something against the use of injectables treatments, that we resent injectables because many consumers are turning to injectables instead of having surgery. Not so. We value injectables for their versatile role in mitigating signs of ageing, both before and after surgery. In fact, at my practice, we offer a wide range of treatments in addition to surgery.

Surgeons understand how ageing affects the human face, neck and body and how ageing occurs over time. As signs of ageing begin to manifest, you need to tackle each stage with suitable means. Both injectables and facial plastic surgery have a role to play in that treatment continuum.

Ageing is ageing. Wrinkles are wrinkles. But I do not treat the lines and wrinkles of a 30 year old in the same way I’d treat lines and wrinkles of a woman of 60.  Their issues are totally different, and I would use distinctly different methods in treating those two people.

Understandably, treatments will depend on how old you are and how you have aged. When a 30 year old or even a 40 year old patient visits me seeking anti-ageing treatments, I appreciate that this person is still in the very early stages of the ageing process. It makes sense to employ a much less aggressive treatment method for this person compared with how I’d be treating a 60 year old seeking a facelift or neck lift, trying to remove loose and excess skin from the face and neck. Think of it as using different strokes for different folks! Each person and how they age is different. It is vital to pay attention to these differences. They matter a great deal to successful outcomes and satisfied patients.

During the initial consultation, I usually guide my patients toward the treatments that I feel are best for them. For some I would recommend only injectables. For others I’d recommend a facelift, or neck lift or some other facial plastic surgical procedure to help them with the issues they are concerned about. There are also some patients who could benefit from both, and for these people I might recommend both injectables and facial plastic surgery.

Think of it this way: Up to a certain point, you can hold back the signs of ageing with injectables. Whether people like it or not, that is the reality.  After awhile, you reach a limit of what injectables alone can do.  At that point it makes sense to have facial plastic surgery.

That does not mean plastic surgery will or should put an end to injectables. If facial plastic surgery uses, for the sake of analogy, broad-brush strokes, injectables play the role of a fine point brush. They help refine results achieved through skilled surgery. Helping to exquisitely refine the results of surgery is a valuable quality all surgeons appreciate in injectables.

This is where the reputation, skills, portfolio and ethics of your surgeon matter. To a person who only has a hammer, every problem is a nail. But with an entire toolbox, you can pick and choose tools that are the best for each situation. I am happy to note that at my practice we have an entire toolbox at our disposal.

I am happy to welcome back Nadia Macpherson to the my team. Nadia is a registered nurse who is highly skilled at wrinkle treatments and dermal filler injections. You can read more about current trends and how Nadia approaches treatments in Face the Festive Season Looking Your Best, a previous blog post of mine.