Lipoatrophy- What does it mean?

So lets break down our earlier blog and discuss more specifically the changes I talked about.  Lipoatrophy represents, in my opinion, one of the changes that aging brings.  It is a term that we use to describe loss of fat or volume in the face.  When a patient says to me that they "looked so much younger" in old photographs, what they are looking at is volume.  Their face simply has more volume as compared to present.
The simple answer to this problem is to restore lost volume.  We can do this in many ways and with various techniques available to us.  The first "filler" was fat and it still is today.  Sometimes we do fat grafting independently or we can combine it at the time of a facelift.  Other fillers that are available on the market like Restylane, Perlane, Juvederm, and Sculptra also play a significant role in facial volume restoration.  In the last 10 to 12 years, the advent of these fillers has made these procedures very popular.  My goal when I meet a patient for facial aging is to find the right treatment option.  The art, of what I offer, lies in the proper assessment and treatment. The ultimate goal is to achieve the most natural appearance for the patient.

Facial Aging - How does it happen?

Facial aging is one of the most common reasons that patients come to see me.  What I offer to patients is anti-Aging  solutions.  It is entirely possible that this can be gracefully and naturally achieved.  Aging process occurs at various rates and to various extents depending on many factors that I have outlined in previous blogs. 

Patients will often point out to me that someone they know who is the same age looks a lot younger.  This is often a factor of genetics more than anything else.  Why not do something about this now ? What are you waiting for ? 

As a plastic surgeon, it is NOT true that we ONLY recommend surgery for everyone that walks in to the office.  There are so many non-surgical options to consider today that surgery is NOT always the answer.  During the consultation, I first try to explain the aging process, before I recommend any treatment.  In my opinion, if patients understand facial aging, it is easier to understand the treatments that we offer.

So lets review facial aging.  I have tried to condense years of reseach into essentially three basic processes : lipoatrophy, loss of ligamentous support, and skin surface damage .  It is a bit simplistic approach and explanation of what really is a very complex process involving many factors, but keeping things simple is often the best approach in life.  These processes are NOT mutually exclusive, isolated, step-wise events.  They can occur at varying rates, intensity, and duration throughout the lifespan of the patient.  This conept is extremely important as I design a treatment solution.