Cosmetic Victories in the Battle Against Aging

You don't have to look your age.

And many people, finding the cost of new minimally-invasive cosmetic surgery procedures affordable, are opting not to.

A little collagen injected around the mouth and the years seem to be miraculously erased from Lucy Taylor's face.

Dr. Louise Ferland inserts the needle, injects a little of a collagen called Zyplast, withdraws the needle, pats the area and repeats the steps until she gets the look Taylor wants. The Zyplast fills in the lines that run alongside her nose and mouth.

"It makes me look more rested, fresher," said Taylor, a nurse who works at Henrico Doctors' Hospital in Virginia.

Taylor has had her eyelids done surgically, but the other things she gets from time to time -- Botox shots to her brow, Zyplast or sometimes the newer filler Restylane -- provide temporary results so they have to be repeated periodically. Taylor said it's worth every penny.

"I am not raising small children with college or weddings to plan for," said Taylor, whose children are grown. She discloses her real age but prefers not to have it in the newspaper.

"Say I am on the backside of 50," said Taylor, who is open about her efforts to look younger. She thinks it helps her on the job, where many of the people she works with are younger.

In an era when 50 is said to be the new 40, and people are living longer, cosmetic procedures that can remove the signs of aging with minimum recovery time are booming.

Botulinum toxin, or Botox, can make forehead creases and crow's feet around the eyes go away. Injected fillers can plump up the folds that show up with age as the face loses fat and as collagen, a connective tissue, breaks down. Laser resurfacing can remove fine lines and skin discoloration, and implants, though not as popular as the injectables, can fill out age-hallowed cheeks.

"The procedures have gotten better. The technology has gotten better," said facial plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Godin. "The variety of things available is greater as well."

The newer products come at a price, but are nothing close to the $6,000 or more in doctor's fees for a face-lift, with operating-room costs and other fees driving the price even higher.

The new procedures also require very little -- if any -- downtime and can be done in a doctor's office. Some are actually marketed as something you can get done on your lunch break.

Beyond the specialists such as dermatologists and plastic surgeons you would expect to offer the services, oral-maxillofacial surgeons, otolaryngology, even ophthalmologists and family physicians are offering cosmetic procedures.

"You need to be careful about who does your treatment and what their training is," said Dr. Galen Fisher of Commonwealth Dermatology. "What you have to watch out for is people who have never really had training overseeing someone else who never had training."

Organizations such as the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery show Botox topping the list of nonsurgical or minimally-invasive cosmetic procedures. Newer products such as Restylane and Radiesse, injectable fillers that last longer than collagen injections, are climbing the list fast.

"I am excited about Radiesse," said Ferland of Innsbrook Plastic Surgery. "It's been on the market for a long time. It's [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] approved for ... soft tissues of the face. ... It's very exciting for something to last a year."

Who's getting all this work done? Mostly women, who make up 90 percent of cosmetic-procedure patients.

"Mid-30s is the youngest for Botox," said Fisher of Commonwealth Dermatology. "We have some filler patients in their 30s; mid-40s to 50s is average.

"Most people want to avoid the frozen look," Fisher said. "They just want to look a little bit younger and don't want people to know they have done anything. Often they are prompted by a special event - a wedding, a high school reunion. They want to look a little fresher."

While the products seem generally safe, they are not without possible complications. The FDA collects reports of adverse events connected to the products in a database that is available at www.fda.gov/cdrh/maude.html. With the injectables, allergic reactions, hard lumps and irritation near the injection site are some of the most commonly reported problems.

Television shows such as "The Swan," "Dr. 90210" and "Extreme Makeover" have made "getting something done" more acceptable. The shows feature dramatic before-and-after makeovers of men and women. The subjects' "flaws," things such as crooked teeth or noses, love handles, jiggly thighs, crow's feet, droopy or small breasts, bald heads or protruding stomachs, are corrected by show's end.

That type of show perpetuates the idea that there is a perfect body type, that anyone can get it and that aging is to be avoided, said one expert who has studied obesity and eating disorders.

"There is the perception out there that everyone is doing it, that the ideal body is out there," said Suzanne Mazzeo, an associate professor of psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. "I don't think it's very healthy. It does not allow for the appreciation of what one of my colleagues calls 'war wounds,' or badges of womanhood. Going through normal developmental stages like pregnancy or menopause, our body changes. There is a big push to reject that change instead of saying, 'Look what this body has done for me.' At any age, if all we emphasize is what our body looks like, that is very limiting."

Even some plastic surgeons believe the growing demand for facial rejuvenation procedures is a little over the top.

"The face in motion is something beautiful," said Dr. Michael Bermant of Bermant Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery at Ironbridge Medical Park in Chester, Va. "I don't like dermal fillers. They just do not last."

Patients know that up front. They also know it will be a recurring expense to maintain the look.

"The point is that we are living longer," said Godin, director of facial plastic surgery in the VCU Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery. "People want to like what they see in the mirror. They want to feel good about themselves. These are pretty practical ways that in a short period of time we can give people a real nice experience and look better. I don't think it devalues old age at all."

Among her circle of friends, Taylor said getting a little Botox or filler is an open secret, shared with those close but not necessarily with the world. Taylor admits she might have "issues" with looking older, but "I don't think I let it rule my life."

Contact Tammie Smith at (804) 649-6572 or TLsmith@timesdispatch.com.

Source: Richmond Times - Dispatch. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. Powered by Yellowbrix.