Hyper-Dilute Radiesse, written by Calvin Lee, MD / Surgical Artistry
(209) 551-1888
What is Radiesse / Hyper-dilute Radiesse?
Radiesse is made of calcium hydroxyapatite, which you also normally have in your body. Radiesse is a filler that has been around for many years. We took the Radiesse and diluted it down so it’s not as thick. We sometimes take one syringe of Radiesse and add sterile saline to turn it into 2 or 3 syringes. This is the process of diluting it and sometimes we call it hyper-dilute Radiesse.
Why do hyper-dilute Radiesse?
The purpose is to stimulate the growth of collagen and have the skin improve in texture, thickness and tightness. Subtle wrinkles can improve as can skin texture including. The skin can tighten a bit too. Hyper-dilute Radiesse works great for temples (side of forehead), lower cheek, neck, chest, buttocks, knees, arms – basically anywhere skin could use some improvement with stimulated collagen.
How often to do hyper-dilute Radiesse?
Growth phase: Consider 2-4 times the first year (spaced 2-4 months apart).
Maintenance phase: Consider 1 time a year.
How many syringes for each session?
Depends on the area. For the lower cheeks – 1 syringe. For the neck – 1 syringe. For the chest – 1-2 syringes. For the Buttocks – 2-10 syringes. For the Arms – 1-2 syringes.
When can you see results?
Immediately you see some changes because Radiesse is a filler. You will see some thickening of the area filled. But the main results that I’m excited about takes about 2-3 months to see when the collagen starts to enhance. In some patients it would be subtle and others more noticeable. Collagen growth is dependent on one’s health, diet, stress level, and many other factors like smoking (smoking is bad for collagen growth / eating lots of fruits and vegetables is good for collagen growth). Patients have seen continued results of collagen growth even after 6 months and perhaps even after 9 months.
How long do the results last?
In general I think patients will want to repeat the procedure every year. The collagen stimulated to grow is your own collagen which you could keep for many years – hard to say specifically how long. But I recommend once a year for maintenance and perhaps even more if one wants to keep improving the area injected.
What to expect afterwards?
I use numbing medicine to help in the comfort of the procedure. The numbing medicine can temporarily cause a lopsided smile for a few hours after the procedure. Some patients have a bit of dull ache in the area injected for about 1 week. Some patients get some swelling which can last 1-3 weeks after the procedure. After a few days, the saline gets absorbed and the swelling goes down. The saline is 50-75% of what we injected. No pain medicine is needed afterwards, but one is welcome to take over the counter medications used for headaches if needed, or apply ice to the areas injected.
Where to get Hyperdilute Radiesse?
At my office: Calvin Lee, MD – Surgical Artistry with Dr. Tammy Wu plastic surgeon. 4754 Dale Road, Modesto, CA 95356. (209) 551-1888.