Ozempic Face: how weight loss drugs are impacting plastic surgery
There is no doubt that Ozempic and other semaglutide medications have revolutionised weight loss over the past few years. Where once patients who struggled to maintain a healthy weight were doomed to an endless cycle of dieting and relapse, with the aid of a daily injection it is now easy to shed the pounds and reduce your risk of obesity-related health issues without having to give it more than a moment’s thought.
However, while this is clearly great news for the waistline, as well as numerous other health benefits such as reducing the risk of diabetes, hypertension, or joint disease, Mr Juling Ong and his fellow plastic surgeons are seeing a marked rise in the number of people requesting cosmetic surgery to rectify the effect that weight loss drugs can have on the face and skin.
What is ‘Ozempic Face’?
The major issue associated with weight loss drugs is the effect that such rapid weight loss can have on the face. Patients are presenting with problems such as sunken eyes, sagging jowls, and a loss of facial volume resulting in hollow cheeks and changes to the lips and chin. And whilst most Ozempic patients are initially pleased to have a slimmer face, this reduction in facial volume can be very ageing.
What can be done to treat this loss of facial volume?
Issues arising from rapid weight loss often need to be tackled with a multi-pronged approach. For example, while hollow cheeks and thin lips might be treated with non-surgical facial rejuvenation treatments such as dermal fillers, sagging jowls and hollow eyes may also need some surgical intervention, such as a facelift, blepharoplasty (eyelid rejuvenation surgery or fat transfer to restore lost fat in the areas of the face where volume loss makes the patient look prematurely aged.
Does the ‘Ozempic effect’ occur anywhere else on the body?
Yes. As with anything that causes you to lose a significant amount of weight quickly, the use of these drugs (Ozempic is just one brand name that has come to be used to describe any injectable weight loss treatment) can result in excess skin on the body – this is usually especially noticeable on the upper arms, thighs and abdomen.
These issues usually require surgical intervention, through what are known as ‘post-weight-loss body procedures’, which include abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) and arm lifts.
Why is this called the ‘Ozempic effect’, if it is just the result of rapid weight loss?
While most of the symptoms described above can also be linked to rapid weight loss achieved through any other means, plastic surgeons like Mr Juling Ong are seeing a distinct rise in patients requesting these rejuvenating procedures as a direct result of injectable weight loss treatments like Ozempic. And there are reports coming from the States of a further potential Ozempic-related matter.
In America, where Ozempic is being used by about six per cent of adults – that’s around 15.5 million people – plastic surgeons are claiming that when they operate on patients taking the drug, the SMAS layer of the skin (that’s the layer of connective tissues and muscle that supports the face), is noticeably thinner and weaker than in non-Ozempic-taking patients.
This can make it more difficult to get a natural-looking result from a facelift, which relies on muscle support. As always, choosing a highly skilled and experienced facelift surgeon is a must.
For more advice on anti-ageing or body procedures linked to rapid weight loss, please call us on 020 7927 6528 to book an appointment with Mr Ong.
