Filler Dissolving & Facial Rehabilitation in Beverly Hills
Accumulated filler, dissolved so that your face can be assessed as it is, with fat grafting to follow where volume is missing.
What it addresses
- Filler that has accumulated in the face over years of treatment
- Anatomy that has become harder to read beneath accumulated filler
- Filler in the under-eye or midface ahead of eyelid surgery
- A face being prepared for a facelift
- Volume that is missing once old filler is gone
Who it is for
- Patients carrying years of filler who are considering having it dissolved
- Patients planning a facelift or eyelid surgery whose filler may need dissolving first
- Patients who would rather restore volume with their own tissue than with synthetic filler
- Patients in good general health
- Patients who are nicotine-free for a minimum of six weeks before and after surgery, when fat grafting is part of the plan
What to expect
- A consultation with Dr. Farajzadeh himself, focused on understanding what you truly want before any procedure is discussed
- A conversation about any filler or injections you have had
- Dissolving first, where the plan calls for it, so that your face can be assessed as it is
- Fat grafting to follow where volume is missing, placed conservatively and in stages
- A plan built for your face, which may end with dissolving alone
What filler dissolving and facial rehabilitation is
- The under-eye
- The midface
- Accumulated filler
- Fat
Filler dissolving and facial rehabilitation is the signature service of the practice's approach to injectables: filler that has accumulated in the face may be dissolved, and where volume is then missing, it is restored with fat from your own body, placed conservatively and in stages. Sometimes that prepares the face for a facelift, and sometimes it is all the face needs.
Accumulated filler can make the underlying anatomy harder to read and plan around. Dissolving it lets that anatomy be read again.
At FarajzMD, fat is the filler of first choice. Where the face has lost volume, it is restored with living tissue from your own body, and synthetic filler is used in select cases, above all in the lips.
The illustration of a block of facial tissue on this page follows the anatomy described in a published paper.
- Minelli L, van der Lei B, Mendelson BC. The Deep Fascia of the Head and Neck Revisited: Relationship with the Facial Nerve and Implications for Rhytidectomy. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2024;153(6):1273-1288.
Dr. Farajzadeh's approach
Dr. Farajzadeh asks about the filler and injections you have had, and whether old filler should be dissolved first is decided with you, from your face, at consultation.
Dissolving
Dr. Farajzadeh dissolves filler with concentrated hyaluronidase, using high-frequency ultrasound to target the areas where it sits. Most hyaluronic acid fillers can be dissolved, while fillers that are not hyaluronic acid based, such as poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) and calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA), cannot. In select cases, an MRI protocol identifies where filler has been placed, guides the dissolving of filler that has been in place for many years, and traces its progress from one session to the next.
After dissolving
With the accumulated filler dissolved, the plan for what comes next is built from your face: sometimes dissolving is all it needs, sometimes fat grafting follows, and sometimes dissolving prepares the face for a facelift.
With or without fat grafting
Where volume is missing, it is restored with fat taken from elsewhere in your body, placed conservatively and in stages. Fat grafting follows the dissolving at a later visit. Dr. Farajzadeh co-authored an invited discussion, published in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery in 2022, on a study of fat graft survival. It is listed with his other papers on Research & Publications.
Before eyelid surgery
If you have had filler or other injections in the under-eye or midface, swelling after eyelid surgery can last significantly longer, which is one reason Dr. Farajzadeh asks about your injectable history at consultation and decides with you whether old filler should be dissolved before surgery.
The lips
For the lips, filler is an option, and fat is offered to select patients.
Filler dissolving is performed in the office, under local anesthesia.
Your surgeon
Dr. Matt Farajzadeh takes the time to focus on his patients as individuals, their lives, and their goals. Fat is his filler of first choice, filler dissolving with or without fat grafting is the signature of his approach to injectables, and he will tell you plainly when the honest answer is a smaller procedure, a different one, or none at all. Dr. Farajzadeh completed the Integrated Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Residency at UC Davis, where he served as Chief Resident, and he is an Editorial Board Member of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, with seventeen peer-reviewed publications.
Recovery
When the plan includes fat grafting, healing unfolds in stages, in the face and at the site where the fat was taken: swelling and bruising are at their most noticeable at first, then resolve, and what remains of the swelling keeps improving over the following months.
The timing of each stage for your recovery is reviewed with you before treatment.
Cost and financing
The fee for filler dissolving and facial rehabilitation follows the scope of your plan, shaped by the areas treated, whether fat grafting follows, and whether a second session of fat grafting is planned, and it is reviewed with you at your consultation once that plan is clear. Financing is available through Cherry and PatientFi.
Questions
Should filler be dissolved before anything else?
Will I need fat grafting afterward?
How is filler dissolved?
Which fillers can be dissolved?
I am planning eyelid surgery or a facelift. Should my filler be dissolved first?
Can I have filler again later?
What is recovery like?
How much does filler dissolving cost?
We look forward to taking care of you.
Results are reviewed privately, case by case, during consultation.