CEO of Wave Plastic Surgery, Dr.Peter Leephoto credits to wave plastic surgery.Dr. Peter Lee, CEO of Wave Plastic Surgery, explains, “The liquid face-lift is excellent for individuals looking to enhance their appearance without the commitment of surgery. However, a thorough consultation is essential to tailor the treatment to each person's unique needs.”How do you feel about the natural aging process, and what changes, if any, would you like to see in your appearance as you age?
I think of the natural aging process as multifaceted: there is your metabolic or physiological age, and there is your outward physical appearance. I suppose, if we are being thorough, there is also your mental age, how intellectually sharp you are, and also your psychological or emotional age, how old you feel. Ideally, all of these would be in synchrony, and each of them, in my own case, and I think consonant with the desires of
most middle-aged people, would be about twenty years younger than my current chronological age.
As you get older, do you notice any specific signs of aging in your skin that concern you the most? (e.g., wrinkles, sagging, fine lines)
of definition along my jawline, and in the sharpness of my cervicomental angle, which is accompanied by the appearance of platysmal bands in my neck.
patients entering our practice commonly overlook are proper protection from UV radiation and maintenance of adequate moisturization of the skin.
Of course there are societal norms of beauty, and we can see these sometimes change over time, but what remains remarkably consistent in our patient population is the internal motivation that people have to look and feel their best, no matter the shifts in these larger trends.
How do you generally feel about non-surgical cosmetic treatments, like Botox or dermal fillers, for addressing signs of aging?
In our practice, we think of the cosmetic interventions we can perform as a series of
instruments that are fit for purpose, and we very consciously strive to choose the
simplest, least expensive, and most easily tolerated intervention that can achieve our
aesthetic objective in each situation. Within this framework, non-surgical cosmetic
treatments like Botox or dermal fillers can be used as primary or adjunctive treatments, depending on the individual situation of each patient and her aesthetic goals.
Have you ever considered or tried a liquid face-lift or similar non-surgical procedures? If so, what was your experience?
The definition of a “liquid facelift’ has considerable variability, depending on who is
performing it, and which modalities are being employed, but, more generally, the answer is yes, I have, over the course of time, used a variety of non-surgical cosmetic
treatments, and in that category, in addition to neuromodulators and dermal fillers, I
would also include laser treatments and a variety of skin care regimens. In answer to
your question, I would say that my experience with them has been uniformly positive, as the effects I have seen from them have been reliably consistent and precisely calibrated to the results I wished to achieve.
What is your opinion on the use of Botox and dermal fillers to reduce wrinkles or sagging skin? Do you see these treatments as a positive option for aging gracefully?
I believe that neuromodulators and dermal fillers can be very effective in reducing some forms of wrinkles and adding volume to sagging facial skin, if they are appropriately calibrated to the issues that we are trying to address. However, if we are to achieve and maintain natural results, it is imperative that we do not rely on them to produce results that would properly require some form of surgical intervention.
How comfortable are you with the idea of using injectable treatments to enhance your appearance versus opting for more traditional beauty routines?
I don’t believe taking advantage of state-of-the-art injectable treatments versus opting for more traditional beauty routines is a binary choice. On the contrary, I believe the efficacy of those more traditional beauty routines can be dramatically enhanced by judicious use of injectable treatments, and vice versa.
What would be your biggest concern when considering a liquid face-lift or other non-surgical aesthetic treatments?
Beyond my baseline commitment to performing non-surgical aesthetic treatments in a sterile, comfortable, safe and reliable manner, I always make sure that these treatments are the most effective options for the issue that I am treating, and the result that I am trying to achieve.
What results would you hope to see from a liquid face-lift or similar treatment? Are there specific areas of your face you'd like to target (e.g., under-eye bags, crow’s feet)?
We try to tailor the treatments we provide to each patient to her unique anatomy, tissue quality and aesthetic goals, but to answer your question more generally, one of the advantages of nonsurgical aesthetic treatments is that they can deliver very subtle
improvements of a patient’s appearance with a minimum of discomfort and downtime.
However, to deliver these benefits it is essential that they be performed with maximal
precision to avoid possible complications like pain, bruising, infection, lumpiness of the skin, asymmetry, etc. Commonly, we use neuromodulators to soften lines in the
forehead, between the eyebrows, around the eyes, and in the smoker’s lines around the lips, and to reduce the prominence of the masseter muscles in the cheeks and platysmal bands in the neck. Dermal filler can be used to soften the nasolabial folds, fill hollows in the tear troughs, add prominence to the malar high point of the cheek, create greater definition and/or projection of the chin and jawline, raise the dorsum of the nose, and create greater definition and/or projection of the nasal tip.
How quickly would you want to see visible improvements after undergoing a treatment like a liquid face-lift? Is immediate or gradual improvement more important to you?
After any surgical or nonsurgical intervention, it is important for patients to understand that it will take some time for postoperative swelling and inflammation to subside enough for them to evaluate the result. One of the advantages of nonsurgical aesthetic
treatments is that the quantity and placement of neuromodulator or dermal filler can be precisely calibrated, in a staged fashion, to achieve the desired result, but, again,
enough time must be allowed to pass between the successive stages to allow an
accurate assessment to be performed prior to the next phase.
How long are you willing to wait to see the final results of a treatment like Botox or dermal fillers, and how long would you expect those results to last?
I would advise patients to wait about two weeks after a treatment with neuromodulators or dermal fillers before they begin to evaluate the results of the treatment. Typically, the results from these treatments will last for three to six months, although there can be a significant variability in this among individual patients, and depending on the products used and the technique performed.
How do you feel about the idea of needing maintenance treatments to sustain the effects of non-surgical cosmetic procedures?
I take it as a given that patients who undergo non-surgical cosmetic procedures, and are pleased with their results, will need maintenance treatments to sustain these results over time. I make sure that patients are aware of, and understand, this reality, prior to their first nonsurgical cosmetic procedure. I also encourage them to concomitantly optimize their skin care regimen to maximize the aesthetic benefits from their nonsurgical cosmetic procedures.
Did you experience any side effects or complications from these treatments, and how did you feel about the aftercare process
I have infrequently, but occasionally, experienced a minor degree of bruising from a
treatment with neuromodulators or dermal fillers. The frequency of this complication can by reduced by the cessation of consumption of aspirin and any NSAIDs the patient may be using. Additionally, supplements and health foods such as fish oil can also increase a patient & 39 tendency to bleed or bruise during or after a nonsurgical aesthetic procedure. For this reason, it is important for patients to share with their health care providers a complete list of all medications, supplements, and nutraceuticals they are consuming prior to undergoing a nonsurgical aesthetic procedure.
How important is the expertise of a provider (such as Dr. Peter Lee) when choosing to undergo a non-surgical procedure? Would you trust a procedure from a highly regarded clinic over a lesser-known provider?
The experience and expertise of the provider in performing the nonsurgical aesthetic procedure is important not only in ensuring that the desired aesthetic result is delivered, but also that it is performed safely and with precision, to minimize the possibility of any complications from the procedure.
How did you feel about your appearance before and after receiving non-surgical treatments? Did it affect your confidence or self-esteem in any way?
In answer to your question, I was not seeking a dramatic change in my appearance, but merely a series of discreet and subtle enhancements. I do believe that the nonsurgical aesthetic treatments I have received delivered this to my satisfaction, and I have been pleased with the results.
How do you respond to criticism or negative comments from others about undergoing cosmetic treatments? Does the stigma surrounding cosmetic procedures affect your decision-making process?
I think in our present moment, discussion and acceptance of cosmetic procedures is almost universal, and any stigma that may have surrounded cosmetic procedures, both surgical and nonsurgical, has largely disappeared. The more significant question is can safe, reliable, and consistent results that are aesthetically enhancing and natural in appearance be delivered to the patient, and that is our focus and commitment at Wave Plastic Surgery.