Whether you’re interested in treating signs of aging or achieving a change in your facial features, injections and plastic surgery provide many avenues to help you see your desired results. Each option comes with many benefits depending on your goals, though they have a few key differences you’ll want to consider.
Interested in getting facial filler injections or plastic surgery? Explore our guide below to better understand your options.
What Are Facial Filler Injections?
Injectable dermal fillers can rejuvenate your appearance without the need for surgery. Fillers can restore smooth appearances, fill in wrinkles and deliver a more youthful look. You can also achieve plumper lips, add volume to your cheeks, enhance shallow contours, reshape your nose and remove under-eye wrinkles with fillers.
You can choose between semi-permanent and permanent fillers. Options for facial injectables from Miami Plastic Surgery® include:
- Juvederm™: This cosmetic injectable adds volume to areas where it’s missing. Depending on the injection site, this option can reduce wrinkle appearance and treat sagging skin. The treatment line includes various products to address unique concerns.
- Radiesse®: This option delivers immediate volume upon injection. Radiesse injections promote natural collagen production to deliver long-lasting results. You can request this treatment for your nose, lips, cheeks, chin and under the eyes.
- Restylane®: Restylane injections help plump and hydrate the skin. This treatment can reduce dark circles under the eyes, add volume to some areas of the face or hands and minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
- Sculptra®: You can gradually stimulate collagen growth with Sculptra dermal injections. This filler can reduce wrinkle appearance and treat the forehead, cheeks, temples, under the eyes, around the lips and nose and other areas.
What Is Facial Plastic Surgery?
Facial plastic surgery encompasses any plastic surgery procedure that has to do with the face, whether it be focused on the nose, cheeks, forehead or another area. Compared to filler injections, facial plastic surgery almost always creates longer-lasting results.
Some of the most common facial plastic surgery operations we offer at Miami Plastic Surgery® include:
- Facelift: This procedure’s goal is to tighten the skin around the neck and face to create a more youthful appearance. It involves incisions along easily hidden places, such as the hairline, to provide the most natural results possible. You can combine a facelift with other nonsurgical and surgical treatments to address multiple aging signs.
- Neck lift: A neck lift addresses excess fat and skin in the neck. Tightening the skin around the neck creates a more defined jawline and neck, which can help you achieve a more youthful appearance.
- Rhinoplasty: A facial plastic surgeon can adjust your nose structure to change its appearance or improve your breathing through rhinoplasty surgery. This procedure reshapes the nose utilizing incisions between the nostrils.
- Otoplasty: Ear procedures can alter the appearance of your ears. Otoplasty surgery often boosts self-esteem, allowing patients the confidence to try out different hairstyles and show off their ears.
- Fat grafting and facial implants: Facial implants enhance facial structures to help you create your most desired features, such as the appearance of sharper bone structure. This procedure can balance overall facial appearance and add proportion to some traits.
- Blepharoplasty: Those looking to improve the appearance of droopy or sagging eyelids may be interested in eyelid surgery, which involves removing excess skin and tightening the remaining skin.
- Brow lift: A forehead or brow lift helps correct frown lines and drooping eyebrows. Your facial plastic surgeon may recommend pairing this surgery with a facelift or eyelid procedure to achieve your desired results.
- Neck liposuction: Liposuction removes stubborn or excess fat. Neck liposuction is minimally invasive and can improve your overall facial appearance by removing unwanted fat.
Surgery vs. Fillers: What Should You Choose?
You can achieve beautiful results with either a plastic surgery procedure or fillers — or both. The best choice for you depends on the areas of your appearance you want to improve. Some people may only need or want one procedure, while others may benefit from multiple treatments. Having realistic expectations about your results will ensure you have the most beneficial experience.
Best Candidates for Surgery and Recovery Time
The ideal candidate for facial surgeries related to aging shows mild to moderate signs of aging around the neck or in the face. These procedures can address deeper issues than fillers, making them a better option for older patients. There are many other reasons for getting facial surgery besides aging, such as reshaping your nose, so you’ll want to consult a facial plastic surgeon to understand your options.
Facial surgery patients can expect longer recovery times as the procedure addresses deeper issues. Patients may need several weeks to fully recover from their procedures. Although some patients can return to everyday activities within a week, they must avoid strenuous activity for at least four to six weeks afterward.
Best Candidates for Fillers and Recovery Time
Those interested in fillers for achieving a more youthful appearance often have minor to moderate signs of facial aging. These candidates are typically between 30 and 55 and are in overall good health. Otherwise, you’d be a good fit for fillers if you want to make subtle changes to your appearance, like getting fuller lips or treating dark under-eye circles.
Recovery times for facial fillers are often much shorter than for plastic surgeries. Many filler patients require little to no recovery time and can return to their regular routine within a few hours with minimal disruptions to their home or work life.
Factors to Consider Before Getting Surgery or Fillers
Before deciding on a specific procedure, consider the following:
- Convenience: Undergoing surgery requires anesthesia, which could be less convenient than fillers for some patients. You may need someone to drive you home from your appointment, and your appointment may last several hours. Filler procedures often take only minutes, and you can schedule your appointment with an experienced provider for professional yet efficient treatment. You can also dissolve fillers if you change your mind about them in the future or for any other reason.
- Cost of treatment: Your procedure’s cost will be a significant factor when deciding on a treatment. Fillers will often be less expensive per session than plastic surgery. Depending on the number of syringes you need for completion, you can expect a filler treatment to cost a few hundred dollars, depending on the number of injections you need. Alternatively, you may spend several thousand dollars on surgery based on your desired results.
- Result longevity: Fillers address minor or moderate concerns, while facelifts and other surgeries address deeper issues. In most cases, facial surgery results are long-lasting, allowing you to go several years before needing another treatment. Fillers are more of a short-term fix, so you may need another round of injections every six months or once a year.
- Scope of results: Both procedures can address an array of improvement areas. However, fillers are limited in what they can accomplish. For example, filler treatments can’t remove excess or sagging skin or lift facial muscles. If you’re interested in more substantial results, plastic surgery can deliver them.
- Recovery time: As mentioned, facial surgeries will often require longer recovery times than fillers. If you can’t avoid strenuous activities for a few weeks, you may need to wait before seeking these procedures. Additionally, if you expect to need someone to care for you while you recover, you should ensure someone will be available for the duration of your recovery time before scheduling an appointment.
Schedule a Consult With Miami Plastic Surgery® Today
Facial plastic surgeries and fillers are common procedures that can highlight and enhance the most beautiful parts of you. Choosing the right procedure is critical for achieving your desired results. Before deciding on your treatment, it’s best to consult with a plastic surgery professional who can help you create the best plan to meet your appearance goals.
The team at Miami Plastic Surgery® shares a mission to make each patient look and feel good. Our team of board-certified cosmetic surgeons in Miami, Florida, has the knowledge to deliver an exceptional experience, empowering us to provide advice and meet your unique needs, whether you want to compare fillers vs. a facelift or achieve a whole new look.
If you’re looking for fillers, rhinoplasty, facelifts or other procedures in Miami, you can rely on us to provide expert advice and advanced techniques. Request a consultation with our professionals to learn more about your options today.
