Permanent Face and Body Filler (Esteform™)
 

As time passes, our faces start to show the effects of gravity, sun exposure and years of facial muscle movement. We no longer have the plump cheeks and smooth face contour we had when we were 16 or 20. The subcutaneous fat (fat right under the skin) gradually decreases making our skin thinner and lines and wrinkles start to appear. A permanent face filler can permanently restore the youthful look to your face. It is important to know that permanent fillers can't correct the loose skin caused by age. If the jowl area or the neck has loose skin, the permanent filler will fill the hollow area in the face but a surgical procedure such as a face or neck lift may be needed to rid the face of the excess skin and give you best results.
 

What is Esteform™ ?

Esteform is a Polyacrylamide gel filler used as an endoprostheses for soft tissue augmentation and contour correction. Esteform is a permanent filler made of synthetic products that are not readily broken down or removed by the body. This means that once Esteform is injected in the face or body it has lasting effects. Esteform is famous for face filling and improving the face contour. It is also used in the body for augmentation purposes. It is mainly injected in the cheeks, temples (sides of the forehead between the brow tail and the hair line), naso-labial folds (deep smile creases), and sometimes in the forehead and along the jaw line and face contour. Esteform can also be used as a non-surgical approach for chin augmentation, butt augmentation, calf augmentation, nose refinement, correction of facial or body asymmetry or anywhere in the body. In most cases of face rejuvenation with fillers Botox is used to remove the wrinkles and lines caused by muscle movement, and Esteform is used to augment or fill the hollow areas and the deep lines in the face.

Are You a Good Candidate for Esteform™ ?

Just about everybody is a candidate for Esteform. Women as young as 21 years old can use Esteform to enhance their cheeks, improve their face contour or enlarge their buttocks, calves, arms, etc… In general you would be a good candidate for Esteform if you seek to fill hollow areas in your face or body or restore the look your face had 5 or 10 years ago. You also need to understand that Esteform can't remove hanging skin in your jowl area or neck, that can only be achieved by surgery. You also need to know that Esteform can't be injected every where in the face, it can only be injected in areas where there is bone support beneath the area being injected to achieve best results (like the areas mentioned above). For other fine lines and creases on the face like the marionette lines (creases at the corner of the lower lip) or fine lines around the mouth, a less viscous, superficial filler is needed, such as the temporary filler Juvéderm.

Preparing for Your Procedure

Before your procedure, Dr. Metwally will perform a complete evaluation with you to discuss your concerns with the hollow areas in your face and determine the role of Esteform in their treatment. If some of the areas of your concern can't be treated with Esteform, Dr. Metwally will suggest a combination of Esteform with other less permanent fillers and maybe Botox to give you best results.

Duration of the Procedure

The duration of your procedure varies significantly according to the areas being treated. For the face filling with Esteform, it takes Dr. Metwally approximately 30 minutes to inject Esteform in the Cheeks, temples, naso-labial folds and the outer contour of the face. For the hands it takes around 20 minutes. For body contouring like butt and calf augmentation it takes around 45 minutes.

Anesthesia Used

Since Esteform is a highly viscous permanent filler, its needle is quite thicker than that of Botox and temporary or semi-permanent fillers. Therefore, local anesthetic is injected in the areas to be treated with Esteform prior to the treatment. You may leave instantaneously after your procedure and resume your normal daily activities
 

During Your Procedure

During your procedure, Dr. Metwally starts by marking the areas that need to be filled. He then injects the local anesthetic to these areas. Then he proceeds by injecting the filler. After that he applies pressure to the area and massages it a bit to ensure the proper distribution of the filler. After the procedure is finished ice packs are applied to your face to minimize the swelling.
 

After Your Procedure

After your procedure you will notice that your face is a bit red and swollen. Some of the swelling is due to the local anesthetic which usually subsides 4 to 6 hours after your procedure. Early lumpiness is common and may be removed by massaging the lumpy area while applying pressure to it. On the second day you will notice that your face has swollen, this swelling subsides gradually over the following 3 to 7 days according to the scale of the treatment. Some bruising may occur on the 2nd day especially if you have a fair complexion, you can hide that with concealer and make up as it subsides until it is gone usually by the 10th day. No pain killer or antibiotic will be prescribed to you and you may resume your normal activities immediately after your procedure is completed.

Seeing Your Result

With Esteform and most fillers in general you can actually see your result immediately after injection. You just need to know that what you see upon the completion of the injection is slightly bigger than your actual result due to the swelling from the anesthesia and the injection. This subsides gradually until your final result is achieved usually by the 14th day.