fillers should not be thought of as a substitute for surgery. a patient who needs a face and neck lift will have sagginess around the jowls and jaw line and a hanging neck. none of that can be improved with fillers. while surgery may be appropriate to help tighten the mid and lower face it does that only to a limited degree. overaggressive surgical treatment will result in that terrible windblown overdrawn “i-was-strapped-to-a-747? look. and that result is very difficult to undo. as fillers are not a substitute for surgery the reverse is true as well. surgery can’t take the place of fillers. but we need to be realistic about what non-surgical techniques such as fillers whether they be permanent or semi-permanent can do with respect to improving the entire appearance. remember the neck and the eyes are the areas that are the tipoffs to aging. and while fillers such as restylane juvederm hydrelle perlane zyderm zyplast cosmoderm cosmoplast sculptra radiesse and even fat and liquid silicone can do great things around the face and i certainly endorse them they don’t answer the problem of the jowls the saggy neck the hanging platysma edges the double chin and upper neck and jaw fat. only surgery is the salvation there. experienced cosmetic plastic surgeons will guide you as to the best choices or combination of treatment. as i’ve said many a time one shoe does not fit all.
can fillers replace plastic surgery?