ABSTRACT
For many years, rhytidectomy has been the mainstay of facial rejuvenative treatment,
and continued improvement of our understanding of the anatomy, aesthetics, and aging
of the face has allowed the development of safer, longer lasting, and more natural
surgical techniques. However, the renaissance of soft tissue augmentation that began
at the start of the new millennium now offers office-based rejuvenative procedures
that have been touted as equivalent to traditional surgical procedures, including
the “injectable rhinoplasty” and, more commonly, the “injectable face-lift.” Although
injectable filler treatments cannot exactly simulate the benefits of surgical rhytidectomy,
they can significantly rejuvenate the face and obviate or delay the need for surgery.
These are touted as simpler as well as easier and cheaper for the patient. But are
they? No cost-effectiveness study of these “filler face-lifts” has ever been published,
and the need for repeat treatments suggests that at some point in time, patient costs
for these procedures may exceed those for a single surgical procedure. This study
examines common scenarios for large-volume soft tissue filler facial rejuvenation
and compares the costs of these treatments with those of traditional face-lift surgery.
KEYWORDS
Soft tissue fillers - rhytidectomy - face-lift - cost minimization - outcome measures
REFERENCES
Available at: http://asaps.org/sites/default/files/2009stats.pdf Accessed April 17, 2010
asclafani@nyee.edu
