Sculptra Workshop by Dr Ayoubi - London (November 2007)

Prof Danny Vleggaar and Dr Ayham Al-Ayoubi

Managing Director of Sculptra Mr Gary Conroy, Prof Danny Vleggaar, Dr Ayham Al-Ayoubi

London Medical and Aesthetic Clinic is one of the leading clinics in Sculptra treatment in the UK. Dr Ayham Al-Ayoubi is a renowned Sculptra Surgeon and he is an internationally recognised expert in the Sculptra procedure.

Sculptra is a long lasting, clinically-proven ,non-invasive stimulating injectable treatment that is designed to smooth out and soften lines and wrinkles, restore facial volume and contour the face in a natural way.

Sculptra considered to be a discreet approach to achieving a fresher, younger-looking appearance, probably Sculptra has being used by many Hollywood stars who deny having surgery but look to have defied age and remain still naturally good looking without a "done" plastic appearance.

Poly-L-lactic acid, the main ingredient of Sculptra has been used successfully in surgical procedure for more than 30 years. Sculptra among others for bioresorbable sutures, in bone plates and screws, and as a medium for medication.

Unlike surgical options, Sculptra can provide gradual, natural-looking results through less traumatic treatment. Scuptra Results usually start to become visible after 4-6 weeks. Patients can achieve a full face lifting effect by having Sculptra treatment which usually lasts up to 4-5 years.

Sculptra is officially approved by MHRA in the UK and the FDA in the USA and for restoration and/or correction of the signs of facial fat loss (lipoatrophy) and Sculptra is used for treating facial lines and wrinkles.

Sculptra is suitable for both woman and men of different ages. Sculptra can help with deep folds around the mouth and nose, sunken cheeks, facial scars, deep acne scars and loose skin. Our surgeon Dr Ayham Al-Ayoubi will be able to assess your suitability for the Sculptra treatment.

A Sculptra clinical study at our clinic with more than 400 Scuptra patients included has shown that the improvements obtained with Sculptra treatment have lasted for up to 4-5 years. Sculptra Treatment usually consists of 2 to 4 sessions lasting up to half an hour; usually four weeks apart with no 'downtime'.

Elle Magazine...............................................................November 2009

"ELLE magazine questioning Dr Ayham Al-Ayoubi about Sculptra and Dermal Fillers"

by Avril Mair

Dr Ayham Al-Ayoubi, from the London Medical & Aesthetic Clinic, sees many women who want something `extreme - they aspire to something which is completely artificial. I say no, of course. But often doctors won't say no to a celebrity or, if they do, the celebrity then goes to a different doctor.'

Dr Ayham Al-Ayoubi doesn't just attend to the rich and vain; he also works for the NHS as a Facial plastic surgeon, carefully reconstructing the faces of cancer patients. Born in Syria, he spends his days in the operating theatre and his evenings in Harley Street, wielding a syringe.

He is charming but straightforward; the kind of doctor who understands that, despite its frivolous nature, cosmetic surgery is still a very serious business indeed. `It's my professional responsibility to make you look like a better version of yourself,' he explains. `That doesn't necessarily mean younger.'

Dr Ayham Al-Ayoubi laughs when I talk about my fat face, telling me that it's actually round, which is something entirely different. He says that I have good skin and am ageing well, but he doesn't send me home with this happy news. Instead, he suggests I try Sculptra: an injectable volumising treatment that gradually stimulates the skin to produce more of its own collagen.

Sculptra takes several sessions over a period of three to six months to see the results, which would then last for three or four years. In the meantime, he recommends some filler.

I've had filler before: fat syringes of the hyaluronic acids Restylane and Perlane injected in my nasolabial lines and lips. I didn't need it then, but I was curious. After one session, I let it dissolve, as it does, and never repeated the experience again.

Now, at the age of 35, I notice little creases developing between the nose and mouth where my fat face has lost its natural stuffing. This is what Dr Ayham Al- Ayopubi will restore, Nothing more.

Having filler isn't painful. It's course. But after a liberal unpleasant, of course - I mean, who likes injections in their face? But after a liberal smear of anaesthetic cream and dfurther numbing needle with ice packs, I hardy feel the needle as it slides in.

Again and again. Two syringe full of something called Teosyal disappear into the flesh between my nose and mouth with startling ease. It takes five minutes, during which time I shut my eyes and hold my breath, expecting some pain. None comes. I feel pressure but nothing else.

The whole procedure is over while I'm still waiting for the bad stuff to happen. `Now look at your beautiful face!' exclaims Dr Ayham Al-Ayoubi, handing me a mirror. I hold my breath again. There's a tiny bloody pinprick above my lip but no bruising, no swelling, nothing to show what's happened. Nothing... except my face seems smoother.

The slight creases have softened out. It's probably too subtle for anyone but me and Dr Ayham Al-Ayoubi to notice.

I don't look as though I've been plumped out into someone else. I look like me - but on a good day. I still have a fat face, of course, but without the puffy cheeks and over-ripe lips of current celebrity. I would be out of place in a gossip magazine.

I like it.

I like it a lot. So much, in fact, that I've signed up for Sculptra. Like I said, it's a slippery slope.

This article about Sculptra has copyright by Elle Magazine.

Body Language Magazine..........................................September 2009

"Sculptra & Long-lasting fillers - prove their safety"

Two studies of long-lasting injectables have provided further data of their efficacy and safety.

One study tested the longevity and quality of the aesthetic results up to three years of using Sculptra - a poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) and the other study recorded the results over two years with a hyaluronic acid.

Dr Ayham Al-Ayoubi, an ENT surgeon and Aesthetics practitioner, conducted the Sculptra study, assessing the efficacy, safety and durability of Sculptra to return volume to facial areas over 150 weeks over which 400 Sculptra patients were treated.

The mean age was 39 years: 70% were Caucasian and 90% were female. Eighty per cent of the group received three to four Sculptra sets of injections around four to six weeks apart.

The Sculptra was injected into the mid-face and temporal fossa regions using a crisscross and tunnelling tech-nique, depositing the Sculptra material deep into the dermis followed by a firm massage. The massage was continued twice a day for the following five to seven days after Sculptra treatment.

No, interruptions in Sculptra treatment were noted due to adverse events.

Sculptra Injections were associated with nominal, localised edema that resolved within an average of three days.

Small haematoma were noted in eight patients following Sculptra injection and resolved within 10 days.

The study notes that palpable, but non-visible and non-bothersome subcutaneous papules were observed in 22 of patients, with a mean onset of six to nine months after initial Sculptra injection, 85% of which were "spontaneously resolved".

Based on clinical examination and photography performed at each session at six months and three years after the second and third Sculptra session, Dr Ayham Al-Ayoubi concludes Sculptra provides more lasting results than absorbable fillers commonly use in clinical practice, such as hyaluronic acid.

"We achieved a significant improvement with collagen stimulation and plumping up of the face using Sculptra, also with a faster response than the older group of 41-70," Dr Ayham Al-Ayoubi says.

Sculptra falls in the class of a stimulatory product that creates its effect through encouraging neocollagenesis when injected. Sculptra is intended for deep tissue filling or in the dermal subcutaneous junction to firm under the skin and soften lines and wrinkles.

Sculptra Injections per session and total volume of product are adjusted according to the size of the correction; however, it is recommended Sculptra injections should be spaced 0.5-1.0cm apart (a cheek may, therefore, require 20 injections), with 0.1-0.2ml of product placed with each injection using a 26-gauge needle. A depot of 0.05ml per Sculptra injection is preferential in the temples and upper zygoma.

Hyaluronic acid

Dr Aref Alsoufi, a plastic surgeon and aesthetic practitioner based in Germany, tested Varioderm Subdermal for facial indications on 42 patients over two years from April 2007 to August 2009. Varioderm Subdermal was injected in subcutaneous tissue and the deep dermis, using a 26-gauge needle. Deep naso-labial and marionette folds, cheeks and cheek bones were treated mainly with subcutaneous injections.

Acute reactions such as swelling, reddening and pain were either minimal or did not occur.

A pronounced volume effect and good adaptation to the tissue were observed, so that even pronounced folds could be aug-mented. No complications were noticed either in the short term or during checkups after three, six, nine and 12 months, with treatment effects lasting 12-18 months.

"This hyaluronic acid has proven to be effective for 12-18 months after a single injection. The only disadvan-tage was a slightly increased swelling tendency during the initial phase. There were no subsequent complications. In our view, this substance represents an interesting new development in the field of fillers," Dr Alsoufi says.

There are three technologies for manufacturing hyaluronic acids. One uses a partly cross-linked portion of hyaluronic acid suspended in a non-cross-linked hyaluronic acid (bi-phasic products) to make the substance injectable.

Another uses hyaluronic acid partly cross-linked (around 1-20%), of which the final product (mono-phasic) is filled into a syringe. The third uses a highly cross-linked hyaluronic acid (70-90%), which has no suspension.

This is subsequently made into particles (monophasic particle technology) and stabilised to facilitate the filling of the syringes without the need for dilution.

This article babout Sculptra has copyright by Body Language Magazine.