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Kybella®

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Real Patient

Treating Double Chins in San Francisco

Kybella® is one of the newest cosmetic treatments to come to the San Francisco area, which is big news for anyone who struggles with excess fat that accumulates beneath their chin. The technical term for the result of these unwanted pockets of fat is “submental fullness,” but patients tired of seeing what most people refer to as a double chin are likely less interested in what to call it, and more interested in how to get rid of it.

While neck liposuction can remove some small amounts of fat to create a more defined jawline, not everyone wants to undergo surgery to get the contours they desire for their chin. Kybella® is a medication introduced by a simple injection, and it begins working quickly, making it ideal for patients looking to improve their appearance with minimal subsequent down time or a recovery period.

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What to Expect During the Procedure

Kybella® is a prescription injection made up of deoxycholic acid, a clear fluid that ruptures fat cell membranes. Deoxycholic acid is naturally present in the body and plays a role in managing fats. When used in Kybella®, it selectively targets the problem behind submental fullness, disrupting the cells and releasing the fat to be naturally absorbed and eliminated from the body. Unlike fat cells that shrink due to diet or exercise, but can grow again if given the opportunity, fat cells successfully treated with Kybella® are no longer a concern.

Your doctor will inject Kybella® into key areas where submental fullness is evident. Every patient’s anatomy is unique, so there is no set number of injections that provides universal results. In general, you can expect multiple injections distributed beneath your chin in a single, 15- to 30-minute session. The number of injections usually decreases with each subsequent treatment.

To achieve your desired results, you may need to have two or four sessions total, each separated by about two months. This is the time frame in which many patients begin to notice a change to their chin profile, though the doctor may recommend six sessions in certain cases.

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Why L&P For Kybella®

The FDA approved Kybella® in April 2015, allowing it for use in adults who want to reduce moderate to severe fat sitting below their chin. This is typically fat that can resist healthy diets and consistent exercise, clinging to the neck area despite a patient’s best efforts to lose it.

How Does Kybella® Differ from Ultherapy®?

Ultherapy® is another popular method for reducing the appearance of fullness beneath the chin and elsewhere, though it doesn’t attack any fat cells, but tightens loose and sagging skin by using sound waves (microfocused ultrasound) to trigger healing processes in deep tissues. Kybella® directly impacts the fat itself to get rid of bulges, and is currently approved only for fat that causes submental fullness.

Note that Kybella® is not a skin-tightening treatment. Talk to the team at Lieberman & Parikh Facial Plastic Surgery to discover the details of fat removal treatments, skin tightening procedures, how they interact, and what the best combination could be for you.

Kybella® Before and After Gallery

View real results from real patients below.

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Facelift Neck Lift before and after treatment

#1 L&P Signature Facelift

This patient had out L&P Signature Deep Plane Facelift and Neck Lift with tissue contouring, a lower blepharoplasty, a limited fat transfer, and a chin implant. Yes, that is a handful of procedures, but look at how natural her outcome is. We wanted to focus on maintaining volume while contouring deep tissues for a youthful appearance.

Facelift Neck Lift before and after treatment

#2 L&P Signature Facelift

We are performing our L&P Signature Facelift and Neck Lift on more men than ever. In this case Drs. Lieberman and Parikh combined it with tissue contouring and a fat transfer to strengthen his jawline and restore facial volume that is lost over time.

Facelift Neck Lift before and after treatment

#3 L&P Signature Facelift

Our gorgeous practice manager got her own L&P Signature Facelift and Neck Lift. It is easy to say that no one needs a facelift, which is true, but these results bring back confidence that our patients have been missing for years. She looks so natural and beautiful with her glow up from Drs. Lieberman and Parikh.

Recovery and Beyond

Because we have a unique understanding of complex facial anatomy, developed through training and experience as facial plastic surgeons, we think about the face as a 3-dimensional structure comprised of layers of skin, complex facial muscles, connective tissue, and bone. It is not simply about filling lines and wrinkles, but rather about achieving harmony and balance in the contours of an attractive face.

Kybella® & Facial Fillers FAQs

Common indications for dermal fillers include:

  • Deepening of the folds around the mouth (nasolabial folds)
  • Deepening of folds that run from the corners of the mouth toward the chin (marionette lines)
  • Downturn of the corners of mouth that creates a permanent frown or unhappy look
  • Deepening of the hollow in front of the jowls
  • Fine lines around the mouth (smoker’s lines)
  • Scars that have created depressions as they have healed
  • Creases in the brow and forehead
  • Acne scarring
  • Hollowness and shadowing under the eyes
  • Volume loss at the cheeks and cheekbones
  • Sinking in at the temples
  • Lip augmentation (lip injections)/lip enhancement

There are 2 main reasons why dermal fillers may be known as “collagen injections,” even though they contain no collagen.

  • Injectables designed to add volume to the face were primarily collagen-based in years past. The active ingredient in these injections is derived either from human skin or from large, domesticated animals, such as cows and pigs. Bovine and porcine collagen require that patients get allergy testing, so when hyaluronic acid-based fillers arrived, patients gravitated toward them due to their ease of use, as well as their longer-lasting results.
  • Dermal fillers serve as a stand-in for collagen, temporarily providing the same benefits as the valuable protein after it diminishes in the skin. Some fillers essentially replace collagen for a time where it is needed. Other fillers physically stimulate the growth of new collagen in addition to providing volume.

As an abundant protein in the body and the skin, in particular, collagen serves to provide support where structural stability is needed, making structures both strong and elastic as necessary. In the skin, collagen creates a framework for other vital components and keeps tissues lifted into youthful contours.

Our bodies naturally make collagen, though the protein breaks down over time and can be damaged and destroyed by ultraviolet radiation, toxins and pollutants, and other elements. When we are young, collagen is quickly replaced, so our skin maintains its structure well. As we get older, however, collagen production tapers off, so the protein grows increasingly scarce in our skin. Its absence leads to problems from small-scale fine lines and wrinkles to large-scale facial contour shifts as once-rounded areas flatten and sag.

Hyaluronic acid’s role in healthy skin is to keep it moist, as it retains water very well. It also works to fill space, keeping contours round. Like collagen, hyaluronic acid levels in the skin drop over time. As skin dries out and loses its filler, wrinkles form, laxity increases, and structure diminishes.

A third element, elastin, allows the skin to stay pliant and resilient, moving back into its proper place after being pulled by muscles while forming expressions. In this way, its role as a structural support is closely related to collagen. As elastin diminishes, skin loses its ability to stretch and move with ease. Wrinkles begin to develop, then stay and become increasingly pronounced.

The collective loss of collagen, hyaluronic acid, and elastin intensifies the signs of aging.

BOTOX® Cosmetic and fillers are often combined to make subtle enhancements to your face. Their collective, temporary effects have been referred to as a “liquid facelift.” BOTOX can improve wrinkles caused by movement of the facial muscles, while fillers can enhance a wider variety of areas of the face by increasing volume and thereby eradicating wrinkles, shadows, creases, and depressions of the face.

Because dermal fillers focus on adding volume to the face, patients who want to revitalize their skin by addressing uneven pigmentation that has developed over time due to the natural aging process and sun exposure can choose skin resurfacing via lasers, a chemical peel, dermaplaning, or microneedling. These treatments complement fillers by removing the outermost layers and reducing the appearance of irregularities in coloring, as well as fine lines and some scarring.

The lift from a JUVÉDERM VOLUMA treatment may inspire some patients to improve other contours on their face. Ultherapy® uses ultrasound therapy to tighten sagging tissues on the face and neck, while the injectable KYBELLA® ruptures unwanted fat cells that cause a double chin and obscure a defined jawline. A surgical facelift is also available for men and women seeking long-term results in their efforts to maintain youthful facial contours.

Our core objective is always to provide a safe, comfortable surgical experience that aspires to restore your appearance and aims to produce natural results.

Did you know you earn points and save money by joining the Allē rewards program? It’s free to register, and every time our office treats you with JUVÉDERM, BOTOX, or any other Allergan product, you’ll earn points for savings on future treatments or purchases.

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