Vampire Facelift: New Cosmetic Procedure Doesn't Suck

Vampires are everywhere these days--in movie theaters, on TV and now there is a vampire facelift procedure coming to a doctor's office near you.

Lona Dion is having the procedure done at Plano Aesthetics--the former model wants to reclaim what time has started to chip away by filling in and plumping up the face that she doesn't see anymore.

"At this point in my life I just want to look a little bit younger," Lona said. "I not quite liking what I'm seeing in the mirror these days."

Lona had blood drawn and then a nurse spun it down to separate the plasma from the blood--the plasma is then activated with a calcium product.

"A little stick right here sweetie," Dr. Jeffery Caruth said while injecting Lona. "I'll put a little around her lips to soften that line."

Dr. Caruth said patients are looking for a more natural way to fight fine lines and wrinkles.

"I think the trend is towards regenerative medicine," Dr. Caruth said. "Stem cells, platelet rich plasma and all these things which are harnessing your own body's ability to anti-age."

Critics say there are no studies to back-up the claim that injecting your own blood back into your face can take a bite out of wrinkles or not--but a friend of Lona who had the procedure is convinced it works.

Dr. Caruth said that compared synthetic facial fillers--the procedure is relatively holistic and at $1,500.00 less expensive in the long run.

"With the platelet rich plasma you are basically allowing you body to restore normal soft tissue to stimulate collagen so these results will probably last for years as opposed to months," Dr. Caruth said.

After several injections Lona got to see the early returns.

"Oh my God, good Lord," Lona giggled. "I look like a little clown."

Dr. Caruth told her the redness and swelling will go down and Lona is confident her own blood will be her fountain of youth.

"I just wanted to look like me, only better," Lona laughed. "Only younger."

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Vampire Facelift: New Cosmetic Procedure Doesn't Suck

Vampires are everywhere these days--in movie theaters, on TV and now there is a vampire facelift procedure coming to a doctor's office near you.

Lona Dion is having the procedure done at Plano Aesthetics--the former model wants to reclaim what time has started to chip away by filling in and plumping up the face that she doesn't see anymore.

"At this point in my life I just want to look a little bit younger," Lona said. "I not quite liking what I'm seeing in the mirror these days."

Lona had blood drawn and then a nurse spun it down to separate the plasma from the blood--the plasma is then activated with a calcium product.

"A little stick right here sweetie," Dr. Jeffery Caruth said while injecting Lona. "I'll put a little around her lips to soften that line."

Dr. Caruth said patients are looking for a more natural way to fight fine lines and wrinkles.

"I think the trend is towards regenerative medicine," Dr. Caruth said. "Stem cells, platelet rich plasma and all these things which are harnessing your own body's ability to anti-age."

Critics say there are no studies to back-up the claim that injecting your own blood back into your face can take a bite out of wrinkles or not--but a friend of Lona who had the procedure is convinced it works.

Dr. Caruth said that compared synthetic facial fillers--the procedure is relatively holistic and at $1,500.00 less expensive in the long run.

"With the platelet rich plasma you are basically allowing you body to restore normal soft tissue to stimulate collagen so these results will probably last for years as opposed to months," Dr. Caruth said.

After several injections Lona got to see the early returns.

"Oh my God, good Lord," Lona giggled. "I look like a little clown."

Dr. Caruth told her the redness and swelling will go down and Lona is confident her own blood will be her fountain of youth.

"I just wanted to look like me, only better," Lona laughed. "Only younger."

View the original article here

'Vampire Facelift' Sucks Your Blood

There's a new kind of cosmetic procedure available, and it doesn't require injecting any acids, fat or toxins into the body. The main ingredient in this wrinkle- removing procedure is a patient's own blood.

The technology is called Selphyl, and it involves injecting a mixture of blood products into the affected areas. It's also called the "vampire face-lift," although calling it a face-lift is not accurate. Selphyl is a nonsurgical procedure akin to filler injections, while a face-lift is the surgical repositioning of facial tissues that have become loose over time.

Dr. Andre Berger of the Rejuvalife Vitality Institute in Beverly Hills, Calif., said the procedure is becoming very popular.

"I think this whole recent theme in the entertainment industry ... of using vampire, Dracula themes, has definitely caused a lot of the interest out there," Berger said.

But today's bloodthirsty pop culture is just part of Selphyl's allure. Some of the more well-known cosmetic fillers -- Juvederm, Restylane and Perlane -- are artificial. There are also collagen fillers and fillers that use parts of a person's own body, such as fat fillers and Selphyl.

"What's nice about [Selphyl] is you're only using that person's blood," said Dr. Susan Stevens Tanne, a cosmetic and laser surgeon at Cosmetic Laser MD in New Jersey.

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.

Selphyl patient Lynn Piper is pleased with her results.

"I think the trick is to stay on top of it and tune up a little at a time," she said.

Selphyl lasts about 15 months, according to the company.

"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," said Tanne.

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