What happens during soft tissue augmentation?

Step 1. Your plastic surgeon will carefully evaluate your facial appearance and skin tone, and examine the areas of your face to be augmented with injectable fillers.

Step 2. Strategic points on your face may be marked as guides to the appropriate injection sites for the dermal filler.

Step 3. The injection sites will be cleansed with an antibacterial agent and icing or a topical numbing agent may be offered to make more sensitive patients comfortable.

In some cases, the filler itself will contain an anesthetic agent. In other cases local anesthetic may be administered to the treatment site.

Step 4. Injection takes only a few moments per site and a few minutes for a course of treatment.

Step 5. Following injection, any markings will be cleansed and icing may be offered to alleviate any temporary, minor discomfort. Makeup may be carefully re-applied so long as care is taken not to apply pressure to the treatment area.

Filling wrinkles or recessed scars involves multiple cosmetic injections. In some cases where deeper injection of fillers is required, a local anesthetic may be used prior to treatment.

Common sites for deeper tissue fillers are the nasolabial folds and marionette lines, or to enhance fullness in the cheeks.

Line Filling

Lip Augmentation

Soft tissue augmentation of the lips requires multiple injections to distribute the filler for enhanced lip fullness and to raise or define a cupid’s bow or vermillion border.

Nasolabial Folds

An improved appearance is visible almost immediately, although minor swelling or bruising may appear at the injection sites.

With some fillers, a slightly “over-filled” appearance may be initially present. These conditions will resolve within a few hours, or at most a few days. The duration may be as long as a few weeks with injection of one’s own harvested fat.