Poly-L-lactic acid facial rejuvenation: an alternative to autologous fat?

Facial volume loss is an important component of facial aging and tends to present at an earlier age than other aspects of aging. Several surgical and nonsurgical products and techniques are available to replace volume loss associated with aging. One surgical technique uses a patient's fat cells to replace or augment volume deficiency. Poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) injection is a nonsurgical option. This article compares these 2 volume augmentation procedures and discusses characteristics of facial aging, the consultation process involved in assessing individual volume loss, procedure details of autologous fat grafting and PLLA injection, the decision of PLLA versus autologous fat, and patient outcomes.