Dr. Joseph O’Connell at Total Aesthetics, uses dermal fillers to smooth facial wrinkles and help restore natural contours by adding volume to the face and sometimes to other areas of the body.

The results are immediate and can last up to two years. Dr. Joseph O’Connell believes that to achieve the most natural results, it’s best to use smaller amounts of fillers more frequently rather than overcorrect once each year. In other words, if you keep the tank three-quarters full, you’ll help stabilize the aging process rather than going through peaks and valleys of facial aging. We always have the latest fillers in stock, including the RHA products from Revance, Juvederm Voluma, Juvederm Volbella, Juvederm Vollure, Restylane Silk, Restylane Refyne, and Restylane Defyne, as well as Radiesse and Sculptra.

Fillers FAQs

Total Aesthetics in Westport and Fairfield County

How long will my dermal filler results last?
Can fillers be injected in my hands?
Can fillers be injected in the nose?
What is a "liquid facelift"?
Do you inject fillers at Botox cosmetic parties or in hair salons?
Who injects fillers at Total Aesthetics?
What about Platelet-Rich Plasma?
What is vibration anesthesia?

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How long will my dermal filler results last?

The longevity of a dermal filler will depend upon the filler being employed and the area of the body or face being treated. The various filler options will be reviewed with you prior to injection during your confidential consultation at Total Aesthetics. All three RHA fillers from Revance have FDA approval for 15-month longevity.

Can fillers be injected in my hands?

Wrinkles and volume loss in the hands are common complaints and tell-tale signs of age. Radiesse and Restylane Lyft are fillers approved by the FDA for correction of lost volume in the hands.

Can fillers be injected in the nose?

Dr. O’Connell commonly treats small nasal imperfections and asymmetries in the nose with dermal fillers.

What is a "liquid facelift"?

This term refers to using fillers sometimes in combination with a neuromodulator to rejuvenate the face non-surgically.

Do you inject fillers at Botox cosmetic parties or in hair salons?

Because fillers are long-lasting injections of exogenous material, Dr. O’Connell believes that the highest standards of cleanliness and sterility are important. At Total Aesthetics in Westport fillers get administered with the cleanliness and safety of an accredited surgicenter and with the experience and skill of a board-certified plastic surgeon with over 35 years of clinical experience.

Who injects fillers at Total Aesthetics?

Because Dr. Joseph O’Connell believes that the aesthetic result achieved with fillers is greatly dependent upon the training, skill, and experience of the injector, all fillers in our practice are personally injected by Dr. O’Connell. One method of injection used by Dr. O’Connell is his “micro-filling structural lattice” approach, where he creates a structural web from micro-tunnels that each contain an extremely small amount of filler. He has helped pioneer the “fill and fan” approach for upper lip lines.

What about Platelet-Rich Plasma?

We use PRP fillers to soften hollowing of the lower eyelids and cheeks and also in other areas of the face. This exciting collagen induction technology has many roles including stimulation of hair growth and enhancement of sexual function.

What is vibration anesthesia?

Vibration anesthesia utilizes a small hand-held device placed next to the area of dermal filler (or Botox!) to make the injections more comfortable. The technique is based upon the gate control therapy of pain where the vibratory sensation, by blocking, reduces or eliminates pain transmission to the brain.

Who Can Benefit from Fillers?

Labia Majora

Age-related decrease in estrogen and weight loss can lead to deflation of the labia majora. Dermal fillers, fat grafting, and Sculptra can be used to recreate a full, vital, and symmetrical look in this area. At Total Aesthetics we’re also getting great results with feminine rejuvenation utilizing Sciton’s BBL SkinTyte technology.

Lips And Lines

One commonly treated region is the perioral or lip area. Vertical lip lines have several causes—muscular action, volume loss, and damage to the skin. Because of this, we utilize a multi-faceted approach when treating perioral lines, including the use of Botox, lasers, and fillers. We are pleased to offer both Restylane Silk and Juvederm Volbella XC, which are two injectable fillers with FDA approval specifically for lip augmentation and correction of perioral lines.

Fine Lines and Surface Wrinkles

Currently, dermal fillers are used in almost all areas of the face and even the body to soften lines and improve contours. While the most commonly treated area is the nasolabial fold, at Total Aesthetics in Westport fillers are used to enhance cheek volume, balance and augment the lips, strengthen the jawline, fill temporal hollows, and even correct imperfections in the nose.

Temporal Hollows

Temporal hollowing and the pre-jowl sulci (the depression in front of the jowl) is treated at Total Aesthetics using hyaluronic acid-based fillers. By contouring and strengthening the jawline, we’re able to safely and inexpensively mimic the effect of a mini facelift and perhaps enable our patients to delay surgical treatment of the lower face.

Cheeks Augmentation

Juvederm Voluma XC, Allergan’s hyaluronic acid-based filler with two-year longevity, is one of our most popular filler choices. Because of Voluma’s ability to enhance facial structure, it’s our “go-to” dermal filler for cheek augmentation. At Total Aesthetics, Dr. O’Connell carefully examines and treats each zone of the cheek to optimize your aesthetic result. Correction of age-related volume loss in the cheeks can also provide improvement to the nasolabial fold and lateral tear-trough areas.

Addressing Your Potential Concerns

Discomfort

At Total Aesthetics, usage of a topical anesthetic gel commonly precedes filler injection. Local anesthetic blocks are provided at no extra cost prior to lip injections. Dr. O’Connell most often utilizes fillers that contain, or can be mixed with lidocaine. We’re among the very first practices to utilize vibration anesthesia and we have PRO-NOX available to minimize injection-associated discomfort.

Cost

Because the extent of treatment varies from patient to patient, Dr. O’Connell will discuss the cost of the various aesthetic options during your confidential consultation. We use only US FDA-approved fillers sourced directly from the manufacturer, and all fillers are injected personally by Dr. O’Connell.

Side Effects

All aesthetic treatments carry risk of complications and side effects. The most common side effects of filler injections are temporary bruising and swelling at the injection sites. There are other risks, and these will be discussed in detail prior to filler treatment at Total Aesthetics.

Scars

Scarring is not an anticipated side effect following any injectable filler treatment.

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Dermal Filler Options

We’re fortunate today to have many excellent dermal filler options, and Dr. O’Connell’s preference is to use certain fillers for specific applications based on the unique properties of each product. Click here to see Dr. O’Connell’s article entitled “The New Era of Designer Fillers.”

Because he prefers to replace “like with like” and because hyaluronic acid is an important component of our skin, Dr. O’Connell most commonly uses hyaluronic acid-based fillers for both wrinkle filling and volumizing the face, including the lips, temporal hollows, jawline, and tear troughs.

We only use premium fillers, hence the Juvederm and Restylane families of products are extensively used in our practice. HA fillers have an important safety advantage because they can be reversed with hyaluronidase—which is always available at Total Aesthetics. In order to minimize discomfort, we commonly apply topical anesthetic cream and utilize vibration anesthesia prior to injection, and fillers that that contain lidocaine such as Juvederm Ultra XC and Restylane-L are preferred. Sculptra Aesthetic and Radiesse are also utilized at Total Aesthetics in Westport, CT. PRO-NOX is also available to minimize injection associated discomfort.

Juvederm

The Juvederm family of premium fillers from Allergan is the world’s #1 selling dermal filler collection, and they are routinely used at Total Aesthetics. Whether it’s to soften nasolabial folds and marionette lines, augment the lips, or contour other areas of the face, the Juvederm family of products provides excellent and safe choices for fillers.

At Total Aesthetics, we use Juvederm Voluma XC to contour the cheeks and jawline and Juvederm Volbella SC to plump and contour the lips and smooth fine lip lines. We’re especially excited about the 18-month longevity of Juvederm Vollure XC. The majority of fillers used at Total Aesthetics contain lidocaine to make your experience with fillers in Westport as pleasant as possible.

Sculptra Aesthetic

Sculptra Aesthetic is a poly-L-lactic acid-based filler from Galderma Aesthetics. Through a series of treatments, the product works to replace lost collagen, and it can provide a more broad volumization than other dermal fillers.

Total Aesthetics is pleased to offer buttock enhancement with Sculptra Aesthetic, known as the "Sculptra Butt Lift". This exciting new procedure is performed in-office without the need for general anesthesia and without the risks of a Brazilian Butt Lift using fat grafting.

Restylane

Whether it’s to fill tear troughs and temporal hollows or to augment the nose and other facial areas, the Restylane family of fillers offers several outstanding choices that provide unique advantages in many areas of the face. We’re pleased to offer both Restylane Refyne and Restylane Defyne, along with Galderma’s flagship HA filler, Restylane-L.

RHA

The RHA filler from Revance is the first of its kind. The “R” means “resilient” and RHA is the only FDA-approved hyaluronic acid filler for dynamic facial folds and wrinkles. Its uniquely gentle manufacturing process preserves the long chain HAs allowing RHA to more closely mimic the natural HA found in your skin. This means that RHA has unparalleled resilience, perfect for those lines and wrinkles that move with facial expression.

Fat and Platelet-Rich Plasma

We’re in an exciting era of microfat and nanofat grafting where it’s not just about filling wrinkles but rather about volumization and rejuvenation through regenerative medicine. We’ve got the skill and experience to bring you these exciting and promising new techniques safely and from the perspective of over 30 years experience.

Why Your Injectables Experience At Total Aesthetics Will Be Different

Dr. O’Connell believes that the aesthetic results achieved from fillers are profoundly dependent upon the training, skill, and experience of the injector; that’s why all fillers at Total Aesthetics are personally injected by Dr. O’Connell—a nationally recognized, Ivy League-educated and trained, board-certified plastic surgeon with over 35 years of clinical experience. While some practitioners claim expertise, when it comes to fillers Westport plastic surgeon Dr. O’Connell has been administering them since the late 1980s!
We were among the first to use vibration anesthesia to minimize the discomfort associated with dermal injections, and PRO-NOX is also available.
We believe that, as exogenous material, all fillers should be injected under meticulously clean and sterile conditions. At Total Aesthetics, you’ll receive the artist’s practiced eye with a surgeon’s level of precision, cleanliness, and sterility.

We use only legitimate, US FDA-approved fillers sourced directly from the manufacturer. We do not use illegally imported or “re-imported” products—we’ll even open the sterile packaging in your presence so you can be sure you’re not receiving an illegal foreign product. *Because we use only legitimate injectable fillers, we can provide you with all discounts and rebates offered by the manufacturers.
With fillers, one size doesn’t fit all. We keep many types of dermal fillers in stock so we can offer you the best and latest options for each and every application.
We’re the first and only practice in Connecticut to use the revolutionary AccuVein technology to minimize risk of bruising.
We understand that with injectable fillers it’s important to “underdo it”—our goal is for an understated, natural, non-surgical result.
We have hyaluronidase in stock at all times in case an adjustment is needed.

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