Treatments
Treatments
Botulinum Toxin
Botulinum Toxin has been used for years to treat muscular problems including eye deviation, eyelid spasm and other muscular spasms that affect the neck and face. There are numerous other medical uses for botulinum toxin and current research is also focusing on using botulinum toxin to help in treating people with strokes and multiple sclerosis.
Ageing is associated with the development of wrinkles and furrows on the face. These lines may develop as a result of weakened dermal collagen from intrinsic ageing or UV exposure, effects of gravity, or may be due to muscle action on the skin. Frequently lines are due to a combination of these factors.
Botulinum toxin reversibly freezes muscles. Therefore it may be used to treat facial lines caused primarily by the action of the muscles on the skin. The ideal areas to treat are those wrinkles caused by muscles that have no important function. Examples include: the deep crease between the eyebrows, 'crows feet' wrinkles and forehead lines.
Side effects
Side effects of this treatment are rare. Occasionally drooping of the eyebrow or eyelid may occur, but only lasts a few weeks. In studies less than 1% of patients have experienced these complications. Rarely, a transient feeling of numbness may develop in the treated area. Allergic reactions and antibody formation, though theoretically possible, have not been documented. Mild bruising may occur and, as with any injection, there is a small risk of local infection. If you are prone to cold sores at the injection site treatment may bring out another eruption. Finally if you are pregnent or breast feeding the treatment is not recommended.
Treatment is relatively painless and takes a few minutes. Improvement in the treated lines can be noted within a few days and usually lasts for four to six months, although some people experience longer duration of effect.
Cost: £130 for 1 area
£230 for 2 areas
£310 for 3 areas
Available areas include the frown complex, forehead and crows feet. Advanced treatments are also available for the upper lip, chin and neck.
Dermal Fillers
These treatments have become increasingly popular over the last few years and act by filling furrows and wrinkles with one of many commercially available filling agents. Lines in the lower part of the face are those most suited to dermal filler treatments. The products commonly used consist of synthetically produced naturally occurring compounds that exist within our bodies eg collagen or hyaluronic acid. Many products are now commercially available such as Restylane, Perlane, Teosyal and Juvederm. These products have now been on the market for many years and have proved to be safe, reliable and effective. Radiesse and Evolence are two newer products that have recently been launched and are also proving very successful.
Dermal Fillers are implanted by the operator often under local anaesthetic.
Side effects
There are very few side effects that may occur with these treatments but redness, slight swelling and mild bruising can be expected for a few days. Fillers are commonly placed in the nose-to-mouth lines, marionette lines at the corners of the mouth and in the lips. Lip treatments may occasionaly provoke an attack of cold sores if you are prone to these. However, the use of Zovirax cream (or similar) for a few days after treatment can help prevent such cold sore development.
Pre-Treatment
If you take medication such as asprin, anti-inflammatory drugs and warfin please notify the Doctor/Nurse as these can lead to a worsening of bruising. In addition if you suffer from any bleeding or skin disorders this should be made known.
Costs - Start from £160 for a half cc vial and range upto £250-£300 for a full 1 cc vial of product.
Skin Peels
Skin peels are extremely useful treatments for certain aesthetic issues
particularly those involving skin texture problems, pigmentation irregularities, fine lines and facial scarring. Dr Winter specialises in providing medium-depth and deep peels. Two basic types of chemicals used. Trichloroacetic acid (TCA) provides medium-depth peeling and is used as an all over face peel to alleviate fine lines, pigmentation irregularities
and lack-lustre appearances. Phenol is a deeper peel that can be very helpful in treating lines around the mouth and under the eyes.
Side effects
After either of these peels there will be mild swelling and tightness of the skin often accompanied by itching. This is soon replaced by peeling over the next few days. With phenol there is often weeping and oozing prior to crust formation. It may well take several days for the peeling to come to an end. Following the end of the peeling there may well be redness of the skin which can persist for some weeks but settles in time. Post-inflammatory pigmentation changes can also occur. Hyperpigmentation (increased pigmentation) is more common in darker skin types and can sometimes persist for months. However hyperpigmentation almost always settles fully in time. Hypopigmentation (presenting as small areas of reduced pigmentation) is a rare occurence following deep peels but can persist indefinately. Finally, scarring is a very rare possibility and is similarly more common with deeper peels.
Costs range from £150 to £550
Sclerotherapy
Sclerotherapy is a very successful treatment that can eliminate unsightly thread-veins on the legs. It involves the injection of a chemical called a sclerosant into the vessels which as a result shortly thereafter disappear. Often a few treatment sessions are required and it is uncommon for a single session alone to be completely successful. The treatment is very safe and extremely effective. It carries with it only a few minor risks. These mainly consist of mild brown staining of the skin which soon disappears.
Cost £160 per treatment session