“Over the last 25 years that I have been in practice, I have seen many changes in the fillers being used for aging skin. Initially we had collagen fillers, which looked great, but only lasted 3-6 months. Now we have much more longer lasting fillers, like Juvéderm VOLUMA®, Juvederm Ultra® or Juvederm Ultra Plus®, Restylane® /Perlane®, Sculptra®, Belotero®, and Artefill®/Bellafill®. “Juvederm VOLUMA® , introduced in January 2014, is a unique filler for the upper cheeks and tear trough area, designed to lift the face and restore natural contours to the face, especially if the mid face area has flattened with age or excessive weight loss.
“Since the introduction of VOLUMA®, a unique lifting filler made by Allergan, this has become one of the most popular procedures that I perform! Only experienced dermal filler injectors, like myself, are actually qualified to perform this procedure, due to the advanced techniques necessary to achieve the desired results. My patients enjoy a natural look that reduces years off their appearance. Results with all these products are immediate and technique sensitive, which means that the results you get depends on who does the procedure.”
Dr. Roper is an expert user of these products. Her patients enjoy wonderful results with no downtime and minimal discomfort.
Juvéderm® (Ultra, Ultra Plus,) , Restylane®/Perlane®, and Belotero®, are FDA approved for nasolabial folds, and are derived from hyaluronic acid, a natural substance found in tissue fluid and joint fluid. These products have counterparts in the medical field that are used to inject into knee joints to alleviate pain.
*individual results may vary
“Juvéderm® and Restylane® are wonderful dermal fillers. They are both made synthetically, and are not animal derived. They are very resilient, lasting approximately two years, but may last longer since research has found that they stimulate collagen and firm the tissue they are placed in. Since Juvéderm® and Restylane® are non-animal based and highly biocompatible, no skin test is needed.”
*individual results may vary
“Juvéderm® is my favorite product to shape the lips,” quotes Dr. Roper. “If it is done precisely, it only looks natural. No one will ever know.”
Sculptra®, FDA approved for the cosmetic treatment of nasolabial folds, was launched initially the fall of 2004. Sculptra® is a synthetic material, made of poly-L-lactic acid, which is used as a single treatment or a series of treatments to treat facial thinning problems especially in the cheek, perioral, and temple area, and in those who have lost too much weight in their face, as well as being used in the treatment of rhytides. No skin test is required. The improvement lasts 2 years or longer in the clinical trials recently reviewed by the FDA, which has been Dr. Roper’s experience also. Dr. Roper is the first in the Tampa Bay Area to use Sculptra® and is the most knowledgeable in the use of this product. “This product is well named,” states Dr. Roper, “as it can be used to ‘sculpt’ and contour the face where no other product would do.” Dr. Roper often combines VOLUMA®, Juvéderm®, or Restylane® with Sculptra® in order to achieve desired results.
*individual results may vary
*individual results may vary
Artefill®, recently renamed Bellafill®, is the first and only FDA approved non-resorbable wrinkle filler for the correction of smile lines, which gives immediate, visible results with no downtime. It has also been approved for acne scars. The results from treatment with this product improves over the course of several months, and usually requires only 1-2 treatments. It does, however, require a skin test to the product at least 4 weeks prior to the treatment.
Artefill®/Bellafill® contains PMMA microspheres and purified bovine collagen gel coupled with an anesthetic that acts as a dual-acting injectable wrinkle filler with immediate results and results that improve over time.* The unique microspheres in Artefill®/Bellafill® are not absorbed by the body, providing increased support to the skin for long-lasting wrinkle correction.
“This is a wonderful product for individuals who know that they want their nasolabial fold correction to last forever, and have trust in me to do it,” states Dr. Roper. Once a long-lasting filler is placed, it cannot be lessened. “I also have used this product, along with the subcision procedure, to treat acne scarring and have had very gratifying results,” states Dr. Roper.
BELOTERO BALANCE® Dermal Filler has unique properties that allow it to adapt within the skin for soft and even correction, and mold evenly into individual facial contours. The versatility of this product makes it strong enough to handle deep treatment areas such as nasolabial folds (smile lines around the mouth), yet soft enough to treat more delicate areas such as crows feet and vertical lip lines (thin lines that appear above the lip line).
Belotero Balance does not add volume to the face and does not distort facial features or lead to ‘duck lips’.
BELOTERO BALANCE® Dermal Filler is made of a material called hyaluronic acid or HA. HA naturally exists as a component of your skin. By binding to water, it fills in wrinkles and folds, allowing immediate and smooth correction.
“The person injecting the product is the artist,” quotes Dr. Roper, “and the product they are injecting is their ‘paint’. The patient needs to know that the ‘artist’, the person injecting the product, is an important part of their final result.”
“It is also important to me that these procedure be performed as painlessly as possible,” states Dr. Roper. “In my office, the patient can be assured that only myself, the physician, will be involved.”
Dr. Roper also warns the public not to go to ‘injection parties’, get treated outside of a doctor’s office, or to use products that are not sold in this country or FDA approved. “Many people have been harmed, especially by the injection of ‘black market’ industrial grade silicone into the face and lips by unscrupulous individuals,” quotes Dr. Roper.
“In order to protect yourself, make sure your ‘physician injector’ is listed on the Florida Department of Health website as a provider,” states Dr. Roper. “Some of my patients have been duped by individuals pretending to be physicians, who really weren’t.”
