Dr. Sam Lam Plastic Surgery Forum

Here in the UK one of our national newspapers has recently featured a new procedure called the ' Y Lift'. We are told that the procedure, originating from New York, involves 'filling in' deflated areas, particularly around the cheeks, with Juvederm. A titanium instrument is used to to lift muscles, fascia and fat underlying the skin and then the Juvederm is injected to hold everything in the new lifted position resulting in (we are told) higher cheekbones, firmer jawline, less wrinkles etc. The procedure requires no local anaesthetic.

I wondered if:

- you had heard of this procedure and how you rate it?
- given your experience with Juvederm how long you think the results may last ( difficult to be precise I know but let's say best/ worst case scenario)?
- what are the advantages/disadvantages of fat grafting as opposed to the 'Y Lift'

Thank you for your time - this is my christening post!

welcome to the post. here are my thoughts:
1. i hate marketing terms like the "Y Lift". as you can see, i so abhor these terms that i try not to use them in my writings except in headers for SEO purposes (that is, for internet ranking).
2. anything that lifts tissues up in the upper to midface is a bad idea in my opinion. that is a long answer but peppered throughout this website is my idea that TRULY lifting of the cheek and brow can either be insufficient to see a result or worse yet visibly seen and look terrible. the way that i see aging is principally volume for the upper midface region and chin and a problem with gravity in the neck and jowl. filling the cheek with juvederm or fat is truly sufficient in most cases.
3. i don't use juvederm. i tend to prefer restylane but the two products are very comparable like pepsi and coke so i don't want to bad mouth one product. i get good results with both. in general i have found when i use the thicker product like perlane that i get really good longevity past a year or year and a half or even more in static areas like the cheeks but less hold in mobile zones like the smile lines and lips. again, i am talking perlane and not restylane so much.
4. i truly think fat is tremendously better (if done right) for a host of reasons: 1) it is permanent, 2) it is "free", i.e., i can harvest enough product to contour all the areas of the face that need it. it would be insanely expensive with temporary injectables, 3) fat is soft and natural feeling whereas fillers especially perlane is much firmer to the touch, 4) fat can change the texture, tone and wrinkles of the skin as it has positive stem cell effects on the skin. 5) fat actually gets better over time as the areas start to blend and improve. the negatives of fat include that it is permanent (and in unskilled hands you can have real problems),requires a recovery, will drop potentially at 3 months before it begins to grow and improve after 6 months (watch my video in st. louis), is not as effective for managing folds and lips as are fillers, it is weight dependent so if you are grossly overweight (over 50 pounds) and fluctuate a lot in your weight, it is not a good treatment option in general, it can cost more because you need sedation etc.
that is the long and short of it. hopefully that helps a bit.
best,
sml