The Vampire Facelift

Get rid of wrinkles with the Vampire facelift….

A new cosmetic procedure known as the vampire facelift gets rid of wrinkles using a patient’s own blood.

The new method to rejuvenate wrinkled skin doesn’t require injecting any acids, fat or toxins into your body, instead wrinkles are smoothed out using the persons own blood.

The procedure technically known as Selphyl – a non-invasive, non-surgical cosmetic filler – involves injecting a mixture of blood products into the affected areas.

Cosmetic fillers currently available on the market are typically made from body fat. Dr. Susan Stevens Tanne, a cosmetic and laser surgeon with New Jersey-based Cosmetic Laser MD said: “What’s nice about [Selphyl] is you’re only using that person’s blood,”

Jen Bustamonte, a patient who underwent the new treatment after deciding a traditional facelift was not the right option, said:

“It makes sense to me that if I could use something from my own body and put it back in my body to create the volume and kind of thing I was looking for, that I wanted to try it,”

Selphyl is prepared by drawing a patient’s blood, separating the platelets from the red blood cells, blending the platelets with a fibrin mixture and injecting it to the area a patient wants to augment.

“You overfill the area by 20 percent so that a person sees an approximation of the final results, but it’s slightly bigger than it will actually be,” said Tanne.

In about a day, the excess is gone, and several weeks later, the fibrin matrix builds up, yielding the final result.

Bustamonte, who was extremely please with her results said:

“Nobody would look at me and point out the spot I had it done, which I love. It’s very natural,”

Aside from near-natural results, Tanne says there are other advantages. Selphyl lasts about 15 months, a few months longer than other fillers that typically last a year:

“It causes almost no bruising because it’s a thin, watery liquid and there’s no allergy testing required since it’s a person’s own blood,”

Despite the obvious benefits from the non-invasive technique, Tanne warns that Selphyl is not for everyone:

“You can’t use it on a full face, because there’s not enough product. It’s also better for volumnizing areas or for more delicate lines.”

She also said it’s better for people with thin, “crepey” skin. Crepey skin is a natural consequence of aging and is characterized by loose folds and wrinkles.

Selphyl is FDA-approved as a facial filler, and it can be used on other parts of the body with wrinkles or decreased volume.

However, not all doctors are agreed on the safety of the procedure. Dr. Malcolm Roth, director of plastic surgery at Maimonides Medical Center, said:

“One of the problems with your own blood is that some people pass out from having their blood taken…

“Also, blood tends to cause an itchy after-effect. Sometimes it causes burning or discoloration. You’re injecting blood into a place where blood doesn’t normally reside…

“Like any other idea or innovation, cautious people want to wait until the pendulum swings to make sure it’s actually safe and the results are worth the time and expense to go through the procedure,”

Selphyl or not, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons predicts that the number of cosmetic procedures performed will exceed 55 million, which is quadruple the number done in 2005.

“Most of the products create instant gratification and can take five years off someone’s appearance,” said Tanne.

“Injectables have very little down time and very little risk,” said Roth. “They are also less expensive than plastic surgery, and in this economy, that’s had a major impact.”

With new fillers like Selphyl becoming part of a growing trend, traditional facelifts may be on their way out. Dr. Julius Few, director of the Few Institute and commissioner of cosmetic medicine for the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery explained:

“There are more products coming to market to address very specific issues, such as fillers doing even more for longer periods of time…

This is an exciting time – novel technology and the development of new and promising ways to preserve a healthy appearance.”

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Cosmetic, Face Lift, Health, Health Care, Injectable Fillers, Medical, Plastic Surgery