This year marks an end of an era for me. Hi. My name is Julie Sylvester. I am a Physician Assistant at Finishing Touch at the Plastic Surgery Group of Rochester. I began working here in August of 2001 and I began cosmetic injections one year later. Back then, it was Zyderm and Zyplast collagen. That is all I had. I trained and used it for unwanted wrinkles of the face. I used it between the brows, across the forehead and for crow’s feet and smile lines. People loved it, for a few months. Then they were back. The problem was that it took too long to start, as allergy tests were needed. And it didn’t last long enough for most, only about three to four months. Cosmoderm and Cosmoplast came next. No allergy test was needed, and it came in a smoother consistency. Hylaform and Captique began the dawn of the next generation of fillers. These were a new class of Hyaluronic acid fillers that were supposed to last longer. And they did, for the most part.
The industry kept moving forward. Next came Restylane and Juvederm. Then came Perlane and Radiesse. With each new product, came better performance than I had previously known.
I learned Perlane and Juvederm were great for nasolabial folds and lips. Radiesse was great for cheek augmentation and deep marionette lines. Botox and Dysport are unsurpassed for upper face wrinkles of the forehead, glabella and crow’s feet. Sometimes, for some people, areas of the lower face were also effectively treated this way. With all of this, I still had a few loyal collagen clients.
Then I got the Email. Collagen was discontinued. No more was to be made. A small group of my practice was disappointed and so was I, for sentimental reasons.
Collagen gave me my start. I honed my craft with you. But better performing products had now replaced you. It is the end of an era but the start of a wonderful career for me. I have enjoyed the journey so far, and anxiously await what is next…….
Julie Sylvester, RPA, C
Finishing Touch, The Plastic Surgery Group of Rochester
