Serving Clearwater, St. Petersburg, and the greater Tampa Bay area, Karl Swanson M.D. of Ultimate Image Cosmetic Medical Center not only seeks to satisfy his clientele, but educate them as well.

“More often than not, patients walk into an elective procedure with little or no valid medical information. It is my goal to change that”.

According to recent studies on non-invasive cosmetic procedures, the most popular filler injections administered are nonpermanent fillers, such Juvederm, Restylane and Perlane. These three fillers are all made out of hyaluronic acid and are very similar chemically. These fillers are top choice for most lines and wrinkles and for injecting the lips. Dr. Swanson prefers Juvederm, “because it is smoother but we have all three types available for injection and patient preference. All three fillers last approximately 6 months to a year. A recent study by Juvederm demonstrated that some improvement is still visible one year after the injection in most people”.

The next most commonly used filler is Radiesse. “Radiesse is made out of calcium hydroxyapatite. This filler may last longer than the hyaluronic fillers, works a little better for very deep folds, but is not good for the shallow wrinkles because it is to firm and may form small little granules at the skins surface. Also Radiesse cannot be used in the lips.” Dr. Swanson can tell you which filler would be the best for you, so don't be too concerned about the small differences between the different hyaluronic fillers or Radiesse.

“We have priced all four of the above fillers exactly the same so that the filler is chosen strictly on what is best for your specific wrinkle or fold. If you have a preference for a particular filler, we can provide it”. Dr. Swanson will let you know at the time of a complimentary consultation if a different choice of filler might be better for your specific situation.

“Each syringe of filler costs $549. It usually takes one syringe of filler to do the lips. Once syringe of filler to do the nasal labial lines, and one syringe of filler to do the labial mental lines. Most patients therefore will need approximately 3 syringes of fillers to optimize their wrinkle reduction, costing $1642. The lips are not injected necessarily to enlarge them but to reduce the wrinkles above the lip, below the lip, and to help merge the areas around the lips smoothly into the nasal labial and labial mental folds.” Dr. Swanson feels it is important to clarify the cost of procedures to show that s patients are getting exactly what they pay for.