Dr. Steinsapir is a Los Angeles based eyelid plastic surgeon and consumer advocate. He is internationally respected for his innovations in cosmetic and reconstructive midface surgery, and minimally invasive cosmetic surgery. He is the doctor behind microdroplet botox, deep fill under eye treatment, and the website lidlift.com. He also serves as a clinical associate professor of ophthalmology at UCLA.
He is here to talk about the increasing popularity of minimally invasive treatment as an alternative to cosmetic eyelid surgery.
Listen to this interview here: Dr. Steinsapir interviewed on Money for Lunch blog radio.
Questions
1. Cosmetic surgery was immensely popular before the great recession, how has it faired turning the current down turn?
Answer-the overall numbers for surgery are down but financial discounting has helped maintain demand. At the same time, the public has become increasingly interested non-surgical treatments as a more affordable and highly effective alternative to actual surgery.
2. Cosmetic eyelid surgery has been one of the most popular cosmetic surgeries, is that still the case?
Answer- Yes, absolutely along with liposuction, and breast surgery. However, the numbers for these surgeries are dwarfed by the number of BOTOX and injectable filler treatments that are now being performed.
3. I understand that some of these non-surgical services are actually taking the place of surgery for some, is that correct?
Answer-With improved products and methods these services can effectively replace surgery for someone in their thirties, forties, fifties, and in many cases, for older individuals as well. Of course BOTOX is now part of our culture. With methods like the microdroplet botox method I developed, it is possible to provide a very natural forehead lift that softens the brow pinch, which makes use look cross, and preserves forehead movement. So, no more forehead freeze, which is really an unwanted side effect of early treatment methods. Perhaps the biggest advance has been in the use of the sugar gels for filling under eye circles.
4. Under eye circles- it that the same thing as a lower eyelid bags?
Answer: Circles, lower eye bags, and dark circles—are all lower eyelid issues that make us look older. The injectable sugar gels have really changed the game. This includes FDA approved fillers like Restylane Lyft®, Restylane, and Juvederm. Well done this service is even better than eyelid surgery and a treatment can last over a year and often as long as two years before needing to be topped off.
5. What are the risks of this type of treatment?
Answer: It is important to understand that any treatment that involves an injection has risks. The big ones here are bruising, lumps, and bumps . Unfortuately for the lower eyelid, this can mean a black eye. This is seen in only 2% of cases. It does resolve, but it sticks around well over a week, longer in some cases. So this treatment is great but it is not a magic wand. I advise my patients to think of these treatments as surgery in a syringe. Most will have swelling for a couple of days. The treatment can hold more water than expected and this may need to be adjusted with an injectable enzyme. These means that it is helpful to have a follow-up visit after the service.
6. Who is qualified to provide these treatments?
Answer: Many of your listeners may be aware that registered nurses provide injectable treatment services in their plastic surgeon or dermatologist’s office. I do not recommend allowing a non-physician perform this service. This is one service where an actual surgical knowledge of the anatomy is vitally important. One should look for a very experienced surgeon or physician in the core aesthetic specialties of oculoplastic surgery, facial plastic surgery, dermatologic surgery, and general plastic surgery. It is ideal to find someone in your area who makes this service and important focus of their practice.