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Bella Fill- Anyone Familiar With It?

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1
(@david1234)

Posted : 03/08/2015 1:26 am

Hi, first time poster here. I have to been battling with acne. I'm over 30 and several course of Accutane, finally my acne has been becoming manageable. Unfortunately, my face is left with severe scarring through the years of the battle. Through this site, I went to a consultation with Dr. Rahimi in the LA area. He quoted me for a procedure, which includes Bella fill, Mixto Co2 and subcision for a whopping $5000. WHOA!! This is only for 1 treatment, and each subsequent procedure would be $1000 more. That is way steep! I would definitely consider this if the price included 2 treatments. He said the 1st treatment I could get 30-50% improvement and the 2nd treatment I could get 20%.

Has anyone heard of Bella fill? He said that Bella fill is permanent filler I googled it, but not much can be found on the forurms except info from the makers of Bella fill webpage.

Anyone from the Los Angeles area recommend other doctors that I can get a 2nd opinion(consult) for a subsicion procedure?

Thank you and to all the members that post here. It has been encouraging to see Acne scarring can be improved!

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252
(@robertitoo)

Posted : 03/08/2015 10:37 am

Before you go fund his vacation trip to Hawaii and drop 2 months salary, I suggest you a)post pictures of your scars so we users can give suggestions or b)visit several other derms and even surgeons & get their opinion.

What kind of scarring do you have?

Bellafill is just re-branded Artefil - you tell me if it's worth it: http://www.realself.com/Artefill/reviews - Mixto: http://www.realself.com/MiXto-laser/reviews

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8
(@anonuser)

Posted : 03/08/2015 12:54 pm

artefill = bellafill, be VERY careful if you decide to do this and make sure you do your research. I would recommend voluma instead.

You won't get 30-50% improvement after one treatment unfortunately unless your scarring is mild. You'll need 3-4 treatments to get those types of results.

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MemberMember
1
(@david1234)

Posted : 03/08/2015 3:24 pm

Thanks for the replies. :-) I'll ask my Doc if he can lower the price and see what the cost would be without the bella fill. He's a pic of my right face.

What's the best treatment for this?

 

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252
(@robertitoo)

Posted : 03/08/2015 6:26 pm

Thanks for the replies. ) I'll ask my Doc if he can lower the price and see what the cost would be without the bella fill. He's a pic of my right face.

What's the best treatment for this?

artefill = bellafill, be VERY careful if you decide to do this and make sure you do your research. I would recommend voluma instead.

You won't get 30-50% improvement after one treatment unfortunately unless your scarring is mild. You'll need 3-4 treatments to get those types of results.

Don't do laser. You have Rolling scars - Lasers are rendered worthless for such scars. Think about it. That's why your doctor is trying to get you to do the Filler. Definitely not worth the $5000. You're definitely easy bait since you have no clue what you're doing. Definitely the type of person I would love to have come by my practice on a daily basis - if I had one

Get subcision done aggressively follow the suction & needling method found here, here & here. Before & Pics included

Look for doctors willing to perform subcision at a reasonable price. My experienced doctor in San Diego is charging me $300.

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MemberMember
8
(@anonuser)

Posted : 03/08/2015 8:31 pm

Thanks for the replies. ) I'll ask my Doc if he can lower the price and see what the cost would be without the bella fill. He's a pic of my right face.

What's the best treatment for this?

I don't really see any major scarring in your pic - not enough to justify the expense and recovery/risk of multiple laser sessions. Stick with the less risky treatments - microneedling, subcision, fillers etc.

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58
(@no_hope)

Posted : 03/08/2015 9:36 pm

dude dont do the filler at all its permanent stuff and there is no undo option if things get bad, also the filler will add volume to your face so if you alrdy have a round face it will get rounder and look weirder and not natural. i think ur better off with a couple aggressive microneedling RF treatments. i did one and seen improvement on my box scar and icepick scars.

that guy is trying to suck out as much money from u as he can 5 grand is wayy too expensive. u can travel to other parts of the world like south korea where thery are more advanced in acne scarring with that kind of money. dont let anyone convince you other wise. think outside the box....

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270
(@blahblahblahblahz)

Posted : 03/09/2015 6:59 am

That is a tremendous amount of money, with no assurance that you will get significant enough results to justify the cost. I can see why he came up with the number though because any regular reader of this forum who is familiar with this dermatologist knows he charges around $3000 just for full face laser, and the Bellafill does run about $1000. That means that the other $1000 is for subcision which sounds like it is way over inflated. I'm a little stunned because there is another member on here who did subcision with him for ~$500. Yes, Bellafill is just Artefill re-branded, and it is indeed permanent. It is basically microspheres of plastic suspended in a gel. The gel goes away, but the tiny balls of plastic cause your body to build collagen (really scar tissue) around them, which keeps them in place and plumps up the depressed scars. There are issues with permanent filler, including granulomas, which are a risk. If it works, great, but if you are overcorrected you can get visible lumps or too much fullness in the face, and it will be difficult to fix. If you try fillers, I recommend starting out first with a temporary one to see if you like the effect. If you don't like it, then it will go away naturally. Fillers do work if they are well done and conservative, but overcorrection is not good. The picture you posted is in soft lighting, which does not highlight the scars well. Can you show a pic with harsh angled lighting? It would make it easier to advise. If most of your scars are rolling scars, I'd suggest doing several subcisions first to get the scars to level off as much as possible.

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16
(@pursuit-of-happyness)

Posted : 03/09/2015 10:07 pm

 

Thanks for the replies. ) I'll ask my Doc if he can lower the price and see what the cost would be without the bella fill. He's a pic of my right face.

What's the best treatment for this?

>artefill = bellafill, be VERY careful if you decide to do this and make sure you do your research. I would recommend voluma instead.

You won't get 30-50% improvement after one treatment unfortunately unless your scarring is mild. You'll need 3-4 treatments to get those types of results.

Don't do laser. You have Rolling scars - Lasers are rendered worthless for such scars. Think about it. That's why your doctor is trying to get you to do the Filler. Definitely not worth the $5000. You're definitely easy bait since you have no clue what you're doing. Definitely the type of person I would love to have come by my practice on a daily basis - if I had one

Get subcision done aggressively follow the suction & needling method found here, here & here. Before & Pics included

Look for doctors willing to perform subcision at a reasonable price. My experienced doctor in San Diego is charging me $300.

Agree !!

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MemberMember
1
(@david1234)

Posted : 03/09/2015 10:26 pm

Thanks for the replies,

blahblah82, the bellafill - he is going to just use it on the nasolabial fold where there is a deep indented scar. For the price he is charging, i'm going to look at several other doctors.

Here are a couple of better lighting pictures. I think most of my scars are shallow, hyperpigmentation perhaps? Any suggestions?

 

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252
(@robertitoo)

Posted : 03/09/2015 11:37 pm

The lights are pretty soft and don't quite capture your scars. The spots you presume is 'hyperpigmentation' are actually pitted correct? I bet you have had them for years because I have quite a few of those as well...

He's charging you $1000 for bellafill on just that one fold? Jesus...

How long have you been off of accutane? And what scar treatments have you tried in the past?

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270
(@blahblahblahblahz)

Posted : 03/09/2015 11:45 pm

Well I mean the price for Bellafill is pretty much average for LA. That part is not surprising. Thats the going rate for a syringe.

Okay, if he's just going to use it for the nasolabial folds I think that should be okay. There's still a risk but since he's not injecting superficially, the chances of visible lumps is much less. I think if you are going to go with permanent filler, it should only be used on the biggest, deepest scars. Permanent fillers should always be used VERY conservatively, and you shouldn't try to get perfection with it, because it's so easy to go from good to overcorrected.

It's still hard to see the contour of your scars in such soft lighting. I see lots of hyperpigmentation, which always exaggerates the depth of scars. Lasers would help to even out the color.

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MemberMember
1
(@david1234)

Posted : 03/10/2015 1:30 am

Robertitoo, I did 3 courses of Accutane. The last course was over 3yrs ago. No scar treatment done. Finally, getting my acne under control, this is my 1st attempt to get professional scar treatment done. Yes, some hyperpigmentation are from the pitted scars but they are shallow. Maybe that's why is hard to get a gauge of the depth? I've looked under sun light with a mirror and fluorescent lighting, this is the worst lighting (most severe scarring) there is.

blahblah82, I'm probably not going to do the bellafill yet. I'm more concern with the many 'rolling' scars and hyperpigmentation and the chin area. I guess, im looking to even out my skin tone and reduce some of the bumps.

I'm going down to San Diego to see Dr Rullan at the end of the month.

Thanks for all the replies!

David

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