Synergism; I suppose this word has been lurking somewhere in my vocabulary since I first heard it in college spoken by Buckminster Fuller, the brilliant scientist who invented the geodesic dome. Sadly, with memory as with all else, if you don’t use it you lose it, so I was reintroduced to this dynamic word just a couple of years ago when its meaning became so very important and pertinent to facial rejuvenation. I will let you look up the meaning in your favorite dictionary, but for our purposes here today, synergism occurs when more than one treatment (usually two) work together to produce a rejuvenating effect that is greater, that is more noticeable, than one would predict on the basis of theoretically adding together what we expect from each treatment individually. There are many examples of the phenomenon of synergism in facial rejuvenation procedures today.

One of the most commonly used synergistic combinations is a face lifting procedure combined with fat grafting to pertinent areas of the face. For example, a mid face and neck lift would be combined with fat grafting to the brow, eye lids, and mid face for top to bottom facial rejuvenation. Fat grafting can also be combined with laser resurfacing of the superficial layers of the skin providing deep tissue volumizing with surface brightening and tightening. Fat grafting is, in my opinion, the brightest star in new techniques in facial rejuvenation. On the other hand, neck or chin liposuction can be combined with SkinTyte, a nonsurgical treatment, to encourage tightening of the skin against the neck.

Another category of two treatments at once being superior to one at a time is the use of Broad Band Light treatment for brown and red spots coupled with SkinTyte treatments for deeper tissue tightening of mild to moderate wrinkling. These are both non-invasive treatments, that is they do not burn or ablate any surface tissue, so down time is minimal and they work together to give a superficial and deep rejuvenating effect.

Dynamic or “lines from movement” can be reduced by Botox or Dysport, while lines or wrinkles at rest may benefit from facial fillers or SkinTyte. The effects complement each other.

These limited examples only begin to describe the various treatment modalities and combinations that you and your Cosmetic Surgeon may discuss in a comprehensive evaluation of your goals and the current status of the tissue layers of your face.

An additional treatment modality that should always be incorporated in this discussion is a supervised face care product program. These can be used to prepare skin for, and to maintain the effects of, nonsurgical procedures.

In summary, the modern Cosmetic Surgeon has more options to offer at all levels of intervention than ever before, nonsurgical as well as surgical, to assist you in deciding on realistic aesthetic goals and solutions. By combining treatment modalities synergy is achieved, and outcomes are improving and are showing better results for the amount of money invested in the intervention. Planned combination treatments are often less costly than performing them individually. With surgery, the fixed costs of using an operating room can be largely covered by the first procedure so the second can be done for less than it would cost if it were done on its own.

Cosmetic Surgery is a dynamic, changing field and only a consultation with your Cosmetic Surgeon can adequately explore all the alternatives likely to achieve your aesthetic goals. The risks and benefits of each should also be discussed so you have a good understanding of how you can best meet your goals.