From Botox To Fillers At Beverly Wilshire Medical Centre

In conjunction with the opening of Beverly Wilshire Medical Centre at Tropicana City Mall, I was invited with a few other bloggers for a presentation by Dr. Teh Jia Li, Consultant Aesthetic Physician followed by a roundtable discussion on several topics pertaining to aesthetic treatments. We’d also be given the opportunity to experience some of the aesthetic treatments offered after a consultation with the aesthetic physicians.

Now I have long come to the realisation that there’s only so much skincare can do for me, no matter what new-fangled ingredients are in there. There are plenty of anti-ageing skincare out there but they won’t work miracles, certainly not the sort that will give your face the firmness and lifting Botox and dermal fillers can. Moreover, you will see almost instant results with aesthetic treatments. Well, it was always on my mind to seek out aesthetic treatments one day but that day came sooner rather than later with the invitation to have a preview of Beverly Wilshire’s treatments.

Dr. Teh Jia Li (seated)

On that Saturday less than 3 weeks ago, I was half an hour late as I’d gotten a little lost looking for Tropicana. I knew exactly where it was but I was trying to be a smart aleck looking for a short cut there from 1 Utama. That led me no where except for going round in circles and eventually I had to go back to my tried and trusted route.

When I arrived, Dr. Teh was already in the middle of her presentation.Much has been said for hundreds of years about the Golden Ratio when it comes to the proportions of a face considered truly beautiful. The Mona Lisa was said to possess the Golden Ratio although Lenoardo da Vinci did not note this in his writings. Needless to say, few people in the world have the Golden Ratio and I certainly am not one of the lucky ones. I;m not qualified to go into detail about this Golden Ratio but the ancient Greeks believed that beauty was represented by a Golden Ratio of 1:1.618.

Dr. Teh explained what happens as we age – loss of collagen, hyaluronic acid and collagen which lead to wrinkles and sagging skin. Of course, baby skin is the best skin in the world. The internal factors of aging are DNA, diet, fitness, hormones and stress. External factors are smoking, photo damage and pollution. In a study conducted on twins, it was found that the twin who smoked and the one who didn’t age at different speeds. The one who smoked had more lines and wrinkles especially around the forehead, eyes and mouth because their lips were constantly pursed.

When even using various types of skincare can’t help turn back time, this is where aesthetic treatments step in. It’s quick and relatively painless (depending on your pain threshold) and with so many choices nowadays, you can definitely find one that falls within your budget. There’s no downtime and you can even have the treatments done in your lunch hour. Aesthetic treatments are unlike plastic surgery where you need a long recovery time and a big budget to boot. Furthermore, there’s a lot more pain during recovery time when you go for plastic surgery whereas there’s minimal discomfort post-aesthetic treatments.

Carey Ng, Miss Malaysia/Universe 2013

Carey’s lips before and after the procedure

After Dr. Teh’s presentation, Carey Ng who is the current Miss Malaysia/Universe have her testimonial. During the pageant, she realised that her upper lip was too thin and every time she spoke on camera, she and others could see that her upper lip didn’t quite match her lower lip so she was recommended a filler treatment at Beverly Wilshire Medical Centre. Carey looks even more beautiful in person than in photos. I have seen her photos in the papers and they really don’t do her justice, she is stunning up close. I think Malaysia has a shot at the Miss Universe pageant this year as she is also eloquent and candid.

So then we had the Roundtable discussion and some of the questions thrown our way were:-

What I have to say to these questions will take up another post and I am sure you all have your own opinions about each one. Suffice to say, I am not against aesthetic treatments or even plastic surgery. It’s a person’s choice and as long as he uses his or her own funds and doesn’t have to beg, borrow or steal for such treatments/surgery, it’s up to them what they want to do with their face. Aesthetic treatments can make a person feel more confident. Of course, you can opt to grow old gracefully but if money can buy youth, then I say go for it. It may sound superficial but it’s the stark reality (whether we like it or not) that youth and beauty can sell products.

After a light lunch, we were ushered into the consultation rooms one-by-one. As I arrived the latest, my consultation was after every else’s and it was with Dr. Wong Chee Hin who is one of the Aesthetic Physicians at Beverly Wilshire Medical Centre. I was expecting Dr. Wong to say “Tell me what you don’t like about yourself” a la Nip/Tuck style. Too many episodes of Nip/Tuck can make one a little imaginative. Dr. Wong didn’t use that line.

Anyway, my concerns were typical of someone who is ageing – frown lines, nasolabial lines, marionette lines. Dr. Wong observed that my face is assymmetrical due to my bone structure hence the lines on the right side of my face seem more accentuated and obvious. Nothing can be done about the bone structure unless I go for plastic surgery. The next best thing would be to have Botox and fillers injected into the affected areas.

With Dr. Wong before the treatments

Botox all over my forehead and fillers for the nasolabial and Marionette lines? Seemed like I was in for a series of shots! I can’t remember the last time I had an injection for anything, it was many years ago. No, I am not that scared of needles and I do have quite a high pain threshold but even then, few people like the thought of needles poking into their flesh, right? Oh well, anything for a review here. I am a glutton for punishment, haha! Seriously though, this was an experience I was looking forward to if only to be able to say I have done Botox too. Bragging rights, that sort of thing.

These are the images before the procedure:-

After the consultation, Dr. Wong’s assistant came into the room to apply numbing cream on all the areas of my face which would be injected. The cream was left to work for 20 minutes before I was ushered into the treatment room. The numbing cream was covered with cling film to aid absorption.

I wasn’t nervous as I lay down on the bed as I knew I was in good hands. I would have been nervous if this wasn’t an established medical centre with qualified professionals. After all, I wasn’t Dr. Wong’s first patient. He had years of experience and I had nothing to worry about.

First, the Botox was injected. As you can see, the needle is very fine. The first shot gave me a bit of a jolt even though Dr. Wong prepared me for every shot. I won’t say it’s completely pain-free as I can feel the needle making its way into my flesh and there is a pressure for a few seconds as the needle dispenses the Botox. However, I kind of got more used to it, as much as one can get used to getting injected.

While I was lying on the bed, Dr. Wong asked if I’d like to have botox injected on my crows’ feet so that the eye area would appear more firm. Since I was already there, why not? A few more injections wouldn’t hurt.

After the Botox, it was on to the fillers on the nasolabial and Marionette lines as well as left chin. The left and right side of my chin aren’t even so fillers on the left made my chin look more balanced and fuller. The entire treatment process (not including consultation time) took 20 minutes.

After the treatment:-

The Botox would take a week before optimum results could be seen while the fillers would take effect immediately. According to Dr. Wong, Botox has up to a 90% success rate on the upper half of the face whereas it has up to 60% success rate on the bottom half of the face which is why fillers are more suitable for the bottom half of the face where there are more muscles than the upper half.

My forehead/frown lines were smoothened, my nasolabial and Marionette lines less obvious and not as deep, crows’ feet had disappeared. It was all good. The week after the treatment, I had 3 compliments from people I met on how good I looked. I explained to them that it was all thanks to Dr. Wong’s skill. They said that I still looked the same, only better. That’s the beauty of Botox and fillers. Botox lasts up to 4 months while fillers last up to a year. I guess I’ll have to go for some maintenance once the Botox wears off!

There are some do’s and don’t’s after the procedure and these include not stepping into a sauna for 24 hours because you don’t want the pores to open up, no massaging the face for 24 hours, avoid sleeping face-down or on your side for 24 hours and avoid excessive facial expressions. It’s recommended to exercise muscles by smiling. frowning, squinting, raising eyebrows for 15-20 minutes after treatment as this works Botox into muscles.

Beverly Wilshire’s promo for April/May 

There was some mild soreness for 3 days after the procedure on my chin but it wasn’t painful. I went back for a follow-up consultation with Dr. Wong a week after the treatment and he said I was looking good. Enhancement and augmentation isn’t for everyone, especially those with a morbid fear of needles but it really helps and if the treatments are as affordable as skincare yet can produce instantaneous results, I’d not hesitate to go for them. To quote Dr. Wong who paraphrased a more famous phrase from a well known airline (no prizes for guessing correctly though) – “Now everyone can be beautiful”. Never mind the nip/tuck, aesthetic treatments can make you look years younger and at any rate, much more refreshed. We all need a little lift now and then and for someone my age, it can be regarded as a necessity rather than vanity.

Beverly Wilshire Medical Centre is located at Lot L1-03, Level 1, Tropicana City Mall, Petaling Jaya (tel : 03-7725 8890 or toll free 1800 88 8802). They have much more than just Botox and fillers on their beauty menu. They also offer laser treatments, PRP therapy, acne care treatment and customised treatments.