For Mild Wrinkles to Deep Wrinkles and Scars...

Unfortunately, there is not magic wrinkle-removing cream or potion.  Wrinkles can be treated with lasers, nitrogen plasma or similar procedures that tighten the skin and promote formation of new collagen to rejuvenate your skin.  They can also be filled with a temporary filler or decreased by inactivating the muscles that cause them..

Here is what we offer for wrinkles, facial creases and scars:

In the first edition of our website, this webpage article described just laser treatments for wrinkles and scars. Since that site was written, we have expanded our approach and added new non-laser technologies that, for many patients, may be more what they desire. Hence, this webpage describes a compreshensive approach to the subject of treating wrinkles and scars, not just lasers. It also references more detailed articles on the specific webpages on this site that deal inividually with each treatment.

Non-Surgical Office Treatments

• Botox®
• Radiesse®
• Juvéderm™
• Restylane™

Surgical Office and Operating Room Treatments 

• Rhytec Portrait® Plasma Skin Rejuvenation
• Carbon Dioxide Laser Resurfacing - UltraPulse® Laser

EACH OF THESE TOPICS IN DISCUSSED IN MORE DETAIL ON SEPARATE WEBPAGES OF THIS WEBSITE. 

BELOW IS A SYNOPSIS AND SOME COMPARISIONS OF TREATMENTS

Why BOTOX®?

Dr. Bentkover has used Botox® (Botulinum Toxin Type A) successfully for facial rejuvenation for over 11 years.  Botox® treats what are called "dynamic" wrinkles and creases through a process known as cosmetic denervation. Botox® is injected with a very tiny needle in such a way as to block the signal from specific nerves to a particular muscle.  It can precisely block the action of a muscle or muscles that cause specific dynamic wrinkles or creases in your face.  Most patients see results within 5-7 days and most results last 3-4 months.  For a more details on Botox® Treatments, please see our specific pages on Botox® on this website. 

FILL YOUR WRINKLES & SCARS...A SIMPLE OFFICE PROCEDURE...

Dr. Bentkover has over 27 years experience with facial fillers.

If you have lines or wrinkles that you want treated in the office with minimal or no down time, you might consider a facial filler.  The right facial filler for you depends the location to be filled, the depth of the area to be filled, and how long you want it to last.

There are a number of cosmetic facial fillers available on the market for facial augmentation. Each has distinct advantages and disadvantages. The fillers currently available legally for facial implantation in the United States are temporary, ranging from 3 months to about 18 months in longevity. (For permanent augmentation see web page on Facial Augmentation).

At the time of this writing, a number of injectible fillers are also awaiting further FDA approval. As they become available Dr. Bentkover will carefully examine their safety and effectiveness relative to existing products before recommending them to our patients.

Most often Dr. Bentkover uses Radiesse™, Juvéderm™and Restylane™. He occasionally uses Cosmoderm® and Cosmoplast® but prefers the longer lasting results of Radiesse™ and Restylane™.  Dr. Bentkover also uses fillers in conjunction with Botox®.  Dr. Bentkover is a member of the national Radiesse™ Medical Education Faculty.  As such, teaches physicians techniques of Radiesse injection. The next page of this website has a discussion of each of these fillers, including when and why Dr. Bentkover likes to use then.  The appropriate choice and use of a facial filler requires a detailed understanding of facial anatomy, a clear understanding of how your face is aging and an eye for placing the filler where it will look natural.

TREAT YOUR WRINKLES & SCARS FROM THE BOTTOM UP...

Two different ways to decrease wrinkles and scars leaving you with smooth, rejuvenated skin...

• Rhytec Portrait® Plasma Skin Regeneration
• Carbon Dioxide Laser Resurfacing - Ultra Pulse®

In the opinion of many facial plastic surgeons, the "gold standard" for facial resurfacing is still carbon dioxide laser resurfacing. Dr. Bentkover has been using the Coherent Ultra Pulse® Carbon Dioxide Laser for facial resurfacing since 1995. The results achieved for wrinkle removal and acne scars is very predicable.  He has very high patient satisfaction with this treatment.

However...

Carbon Dioxide laser resurfacing involves considerable down time, with redness that slowly goes away over 3 - 4 months. Also, while small regions such as the lower eyelids-crow's feet and the area around the mouth can be done under local anesthesia in the office, a full face treatment generally requires intravenous sedation or general anesthesia.
 

A New Alternative to laser resurfacing...

RHYTEC PORTRAIT® Plasma SKIN REGENERATION

In an effort to decrease down time and offer treatments that can be done quickly in the office we have introduced Rhytec Portrait® Skin Regeneration. Dr. Bentkover is one of the first surgeons in New England to offer this new technology. This exciting new technology enables Dr. Bentkover to treat your wrinkles, acne scars and facial discoloration with a quick office treatment that requires only topical or local anesthesia. Down time is considerably less than with the laser. By7-8 days after the procedure most of the redness (really just pinkness) is generally gone!  And...after the treatment, skin tightening continues for many more months than with the laser.

A comparison of the two treatments...

Rhytec Portrait® Plasma Skin Regeneration

• Removes or improves wrinkles of the face almost as well as the carbon dioxide laser with significantly less down time
• Removes layers of old skin and promotes growth of new, smoother, healthier skin
• Can dramatically improve the overall quality and texture of the skin
• Improves the appearance of acne scars
• Removes brown spots and some benign skin lesions
• Skin continues to tighten for up to 1 year after the procedure - longer than with the carbon dioxide laser 
• Parts of your face or your entire face can be safely treated with just local or topical anesthesia
• Requires no significant skin preparation
  

Portrait® Plasma Skin Regeneration from Rhytec is a new technology that utilizes a nitrogen plasma spray instead of a laser (Plasma is an electrified gas that is the fourth state of matter - solid, liquid, gas, and plasma.) We are very excited about this technique. The major advantages of Portrait Skin Regeneration is minimal down time compared to the carbon dioxide laser and the ability to do the procedure with only topical or some injected local anesthesia. Some patients are treated in three short, low energy treatments; some patients are treated with one high energy treatment. The choice of type of treatment depends on the depth of your wrinkles and how much down time is reasonable for you.

The Portrait® does not remove skin. It works by heating the deeper layer of the skin, the dermis. This heat stimulates new collagen growth, which, over time, leads to tightening of the skin. Your skin peels on its own a few days after the treatment. You can continue to make new collagen for up to a year.

With Portrait®, we are now able to offer a skin resurfacing technique that requires no skin preparation, has much less down time that the carbon dioxide laser, and requires little anesthesia. You skin will be pink after the procedure, peel in few days and be largely free of redness in 10 days (as opposed to 3-4 months with the laser). Also, there is much less risk of skin over lightening or darkening than with the laser. 

For more information on Portrait®, please also see the article written by Dr. Bentkover on his blog at www.facialplasticsurgeonblog.com.

The Coherent Ultra Pulse® Carbon Dioxide Laser

• The standard to which all other resurfacing techniques are compared
• Removes or improves deeper wrinkles of the face
• Removes layers of old skin and promotes growth of new, smoother, healthier skin
• The most significant stimulator of new collagen growth of all cosmetic lasers
• Improves the appearance of acne scars
• Removes brown spots from the face
• Skin continues to tighten for about 3 months after the procedure 
• Small areas can be treated with just local anesthesia; full face requires intravenous sedation or general anesthesia
• Requires skin preparation to prevent hyperpigmenation (increased brown pigment) 
  

It is used for deep wrinkles of the face, including crow's feet, lower eyelids, upper lip (lipstick spill lines), lower lip, chin and other lines around the mouth. It is also used for whole face treatment of facial wrinkles and for acne and other scars. Dr. Bentkover uses this laser most commonly for the lower eyelids and crow's feet in conjunction with other eyelid rejuvenation surgery and for the upper lip, lower lip and chin area.

This a laser peel of the epidermis and a tightening of the next layer of the skin, the dermis. Your body is stimulated to produce new, tighter collagen in the dermis.

All procedures require, at least, local anesthesia; and some require general anesthesia or intravenous sedation. Procedures under local anesthesia can be performed in our office operating suite. Growth of new skin generally requires 7-14 days, and we see the patients frequently during this period, providing ongoing skin care. You body will continue to produce new collagen in the lasered skin for about 3 months, continuing to tighten the skin. A pink to red discoloration of the lasered skin can also persist for 3-4 months. Some lightening of the skin is possible, and your skin will need to be prepared for 4-6 weeks before surgery to prevent darkening (hyperpigmentation) of the skin. People with darker skin types are not good candidates for this procedure.

Dr. Bentkover will be able to recommend whether Rhytec Portrait® Plasma or Ultra Pulse® Carbon Dioxide Laser Resurfacing is the right treatment for you.