If you want to look 20 years younger, you can work on your body, every day, and lift weights and do cardio and Pilates ad infinitum – but the only things you can do for your face are to moisturize, moisturize, and moisturize some more – and use retinoids. And maybe get a laser procedure. That has always been the conventional thinking – until now, that is.
Or, you can spend just one hour with a skilled facial plastic surgeon, who can expertly administer Botox and other injectibles – and achieve, in 60 minutes, what it takes one year to accomplish with expert skincare.
So says Dr. Vickram Tandon, a highly skilled plastic surgeon in the Boston area. Dr. Tandon is a new addition to the acclaimed Boston Center for Facial Rejuvenation, an award-winning specialty medical practice headed by Dr. Leonard Miller. A pioneer in the world of aesthetic medicine, Dr. Miller was the first surgeon to bring micro-needling (Percutaneous Collagen Induction Therapy) to the United States. Dr. Miller actively participates in clinical trials of cutting-edge injectables, and develops new cosmetic products and skin care technologies. Today, he is the clinical founder of the ThermiAesthetics Skin Rejuvenation System. (On the practice’s website, you can read Dr. Miller’s excellent blog that explains in detail a wealth of procedures.)
Harvard-trained, Dr. Tandon joined Dr. Miller’s medical practice early this summer, and is highly skilled in a wealth of aesthetic non-surgical services – not only liquid facelifts, but microneedling, dermal fillers, ILP Photofacials and threadlifts, to mention just a few.
He is joined by another esteemed new member to the practice, Dr. Akshay Sanan, a facial plastic surgeon, whose accomplishments are equally impressive. Dr. Sanan was accepted to Boston University School of Medicine right out of high school, through the university’s accelerated medical program. Upon graduation, he received the Dean Eleanor Tyler Award, given to the top graduate of the medical program. His resume also includes working at a prominent Beverly Hills plastic surgery medical office (You know the prestigious zip code: 90210.)
I visited both of these doctors for a liquid facelift and have to say it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Not just because indeed, it was a wow-level experience – but that in just one hour I reversed the clock by 20 years – and also because I knew I was in the expert hands of two extremely qualified, crème-de-la-creme plastic surgeons who were supremely qualified to improve every area of my face.
Right from the start, both doctors, at the beginning of my consultation, visually dissected my face, and determined between them what specific combination of fillers and Botox would best complement my features. Right down to the millimeter. My right eyebrow needed to be lifted just a touch, to match my left brow. My right lip needed just a small amount of Botox, as did my chin. And one of my neck muscles also needed a little tweak with just enough Botox.And since my face already had cheek implants, they decided to only superficially inject just a light touch of Volbella, “to harmonize my facial balance.”
Both doctors are fluent in the wealth of state-of-the-art cosmetic treatments now available to add volume to areas of the face that have lost elasticity or firmness due to aging, sun damage, genetics or other factors.
My experience was leagues above that of visiting a medi-spa, where, in some cases, practitioners simply take a weekend course in how to administer Botox, and then market themselves as “experts.” (I find that very scary. I can only imagine some of the horrific results obtained at such establishments.) What sets the Boston Center For Facial Rejuvenation apart from its competition is that its esteemed plastic surgeons are highly skilled in facial balancing. “We don’t just do facial filling,” says Dr. Tandon, explaining that balancing takes into account your entire face, and making it look its best from top to bottom while they erase and modify the telltale signs of aging. And they are very hesitant to inject facial fillers into the naso-labial folds. “If you inject too much there, it’s not natural and you wind up looking like a cartoon-character,” he said.
Here, facial symmetry is what it is all about. These two doctors are true artists in what they do.
They told me that they essentially perform a “trifecta” on their patients: They mimic facial bones with filler. They mimic facial fat with filler. And they mimic tissue hydration with filler.
“It all gets back to anatomy,” said both doctors. Their informed medical expertise made me feel extremely confident in their abilities to turn back the clock on my face.
It took about an hour for them to work in tandem on my appearance. I received Botox around my crow’s feet, a mini brow lift with Botox, and Volbella filler to my cheeks and lips. And a touch of Restylane Defyne to my chin and jawline. When finished, I had the heart-shaped face of my youth.
And let’s face it – the bottom line is this: Looking younger is one of life’s greatest pleasures.
And, knowing that Dr. Miller himself believes in “less is more,” I exited with just the perfect combination of medical procedures that completely rejuvenated my appearance – but with natural-looking results – and that is key. The filler results were immediately apparent, while Botox takes about 3-5 days to fully take effect. One of many upsides to my experience – I found that people in stores starting addressing me as “Miss,” instead of “Ma’am.” Could it really be possible that now I look like a thirty-something – at my ripe old age of 67?
And here’s something else interesting that I learned – the two doctors told me that there is a worldwide phenomenon right now called “filler fatigue,” of patients returning, then returning yet some more, every nine months, to fill their faces. “Before you know it, you’re a water balloon,” the two doctors told me. “We have said, ‘No,’ to a lot of patients who want filler, under those circumstances.” Interestingly, said Dr. Sanan, “We actually dissolve a lot of people’s filler in this clinic, effectively reversing previous over-treatments.”
Next up was my husband Bill. Currently, there is a huge increase in men obtaining facial procedures, as The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports a 43% increase in men having aesthetic procedures, whose facial balancing requires an entire aesthetic of its own. “The male aesthetic is different from a female’s – much so – male cheekbones are more square,” Dr. Sanan told me. He explained that if you upsweep the cheek lift on a man (like the Nike “swish” logo) – the results are an effeminate appearance -- and to avoid that, it is absolutely essential to keep the male injections horizontal. Furthermore, “Too much filler on men is not harmonious,” they both said.
For Bill, both doctors created a custom syringe of Juvederm XC mixed with saline – as they said, “We want to mimic improved hydration to that area.”
(And here’s something to make note of. Dr. Tandon said that he likes to custom create filler with saline, and that “No product in America does that.” However, it is now available in Europe in a product called Profhilo, a nourishing injectible moisturizer.)
As part of Bill’s procedure, the two doctors injected Juvederm Ultra Plus filler to his cheeks, which had become hollowed out with age. And they administered Botox to his crow’s feet. In just one hour, as was the case with me, his face was artistically transformed.
Currently, with good reason, the Boston Center For Facial Rejuvenation has a booming practice with patients from all over the world, who visit the clinic for cosmetic procedures. To accommodate these patients, the practice has a second location (outside the first location in Brookline) in downtown Boston, in Back Bay, on stylish Newbury Street. On Dr. Tandon’s website, for example, there are lists of hotels in the area where patients can stay post-procedure if they have had plastic surgery. “We recommend that they stay in town for seven days,” says Dr. Tandon. Many of the patients are from the Middle East and Asia, and many are students who have come to college in the Boston area – and their parents who visit them and combine that trip with an aesthetic facial or surgical procedure.
I found The Boston Center for Facial Rejuvenation a sanctuary of transformative refinement helmed by luminaries whose pedigrees mirror their artistry. This is the power of the synergy of academic prowess and surgical innovation – and their successful results offer what a “medi-spa” can only hope to accomplish.
If you are interested in both facial and body surgery that is offered at this posh practice – you should know a few key facts: Their rhinoplasties redefine facial architecture, their chin augmentations balance facial harmony and their lip lifts metamorphose aged smiles into exuberant ones.
The practice has also dramatically grown its breast and body related-operations. “Breast lifts are complete with internal bras, our liposuction fat removal also tightens skin, and we also offer abdominal contouring to create athletic, toned-appearing abdomens,” Dr. Tandon explained.
The practice is more than just fixing things up – it's a first-class experience. They're turning what could be ordinary into something extraordinary, and it’s creating art with a surgical twist.
I can attest to the fact that these procedures are a luxury that are well-worth their time and effort. Not only can you look younger as a result of them, but these procedures inspire great confidence.
“And confidence looks good on most people,” Dr. Tandon told me.
I couldn’t have said it better.
