This was the fourth F.A.C.E. 2 F@ce Congress taking place in glorious Cannes at the Palais de Festival where celebrities grace the red carpeted steps for their close ups. This European aesthetics showcase, the brainchild of Scientific Directors, Parisian plastic surgeon Patrick Trevidic, facial plastic surgeons Frederic Braccini and Jerome Paris, featured doctors from all over the world who came to soak up some sun and learn.
‘Together, we have made F.A.C.E. 2 F@ce a landmark autumn congress in Europe. Our goal is to produce a high quality congress in which science has reclaimed the central position it deserves. We want to encourage delegates and faculty to share their knowledge and discuss the latest innovations in aesthetics,’ said Trevidic.
Leading aesthetic practitioners, dermatologists, plastic surgeons and maxillofacial surgeons from France as well as across Europe are represented on the Congress Scientific Committee, including St. Petersbourg dermatologist Irina Dmitrieva, Moscow plastic surgeon Oleg Banige, Meyrin Switzerland plastic surgeon Pierre Quinodoz, Rome plastic surgeon Luca Piovano, and aesthetic physicians Riekie Smit from South Africa and Jani Van Loghem from The Netherlands.
New techniques and technologies are emerging everyday and aesthetic doctors and surgeons need to gather in conferences to share their experience and keep their knowledge updated. ‘We wish to gather some of the world-renowned leaders of facial rejuvenation and rejuvenation to share their great experience in a friendly and memorable place,’ said Braccini.
According to Bradenton, FL dermatologist and Congress President Susan Weinkle, ‘The F.A.C.E 2 F@ce Congress is the perfect opportunity to interact with expert physicians from around the world on a wide variety of aesthetic topics. The scientific programme includes multi-specialty presentations on every aspect of rejuvenation. It will most certainly provide a fruitful learning experience. The congress is held in the most beautiful part of France at the perfect time of year.’ She added that Chanel is just around the corner from the Palais de Festival, surely a fact that was not overlooked by any of the women in attendance.
Cannes International Aesthetic Film Festival
The gala was held at the fashionable Hotel Martinez on La Croisette. Maryland dermatologist Hema Sundaram was this year’s Master of Ceremonies for the Cannes International Aesthetic Film Festival (CIAFF) that has proven to be a universally popular event at the congress.
‘The CIAFF is an event within the event. It is meant to broadcast and reward the best aesthetic medical films. All films related to aesthetic surgery and procedures can enter the competition,’ said Braccini. Products and innovations may be submitted for four categories: facial rejuvenation, injections, machines, and medical devices. A total of seven awards were awarded for original films made by faculty and attendees on the Congress.
‘Now in its fourth year, the F.A.C.E. 2 F@ce congress continues to grow and evolve. As a scientific coordinator for the 2014 edition, I’ve assisted with programming and organisational aspects of the congress, and feedback from attendees this year was very positive, with many citing the high quality of the educational content,’ said Sundaram.
Debut performances
‘The major sponsors of this year’s Congress were Allergan, Filorga, Galderma, LPG, Merz Aesthetics, and Teoxane Laboratoires,’ said Paris. ‘We welcomed 65 exhibitors in all and continue to attract new companies to join F.A.C.E. 2 F@ce as our partners.’
According to Valerie Taupin, CEO of Teoxane Laboratoires, ‘At the 4th annual F.A.C.E. 2 F@ce, there were many excellent speakers, such as the remarkably charismatic Dr Susan Weinkle, the Congress President, and the renowned and talented doctors Ava Shamban and Gary Monheit who taught us techniques from the US to beautify and rejuvenate. It all happened in a really convivial atmosphere in the beautiful city of Cannes which is always lovely!’
Teoxane debuted their new Teosyal Pen, a novel cordless injection device that can be used with any commercial filler or toxin. Doctors Giusseppe Sito of Rome and Herve Padet of Cannes introduced the system in a special workshop.
Sundaram presented the first comparative clinical evaluation of this new, portable automated filler injection device in which her group found benefits over manual injection even for experienced injectors, including increased patient comfort and elimination of manual injector fatigue when several procedures are performed sequentially.
Filorga had a grand debut of their own. They presented the company’s first hyaluronic acid filler called ART FILLER®. Drs Braccini and Trevidic were joined by Dr Piccerelle to describe their experience with this new product. The ART FILLER® range includes four variations, VOLUME, UNIVERSEL, LIPS and FINE LINES. ART FILLER® is a major launch for Filorga, and they will be marketing this new range in the most important markets for fillers and in countries where Filorga is not yet on the market, depending on the regulatory requirements.
Sundaram introduced the Global Aesthetics Consensus Group (GACG) initiative, which brings together injectables experts from throughout the world to provide updated guidelines for onabotulinumtoxin A (Botox Cosmetic) and HA fillers (Voluma, Volift and Volbella). The GACG is chaired by Drs Steven Liew (Asia-Pacific), Massimo Signorini (Europe) and Sundaram (US/Canada). ‘We believe this will be of value to all practitioners who wish to optimise their use of HA fillers and neuromodulators,’ said Sundaram.
A full cast of injectables
Dr Rebecca Fitzgerald, a dermatologist from Los Angeles, CA, conducted a very popular injection workshop that was standing room only. Known for her flawless technique and unique approach to the ageing face, Fitzgerald described her method for placing dermal fillers to mimic fat pads for facial rejuvenation.
Sundaram gave a comprehensive lecture titled, ‘The New Science of Fillers: The Concept, The Evidence and The Clinical Relevance’. ‘I discussed recent research that I’ve performed, some in collaboration with Milanese plastic surgeon Daniel Cassuto. This includes development and validation of a new assay for cohesivity of hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers, which shows variations between cohesivity of different HA filler families, and also differences within families that impact clinical behaviour. For example, within the cohesive polydensified matrix (CPM) HA family, all products are highly cohesive, with the deep volumiser (Belotero® Volume) being somewhat less so than the classic/superficial product (Belotero® Basic), and therefore more moldable and suited for deep implantation.
Yates Yen-Yu Chao, MD, of Taipei, Taiwan gave an interesting lecture about his unique techniques with injectable fillers. For example, he described his method for using Sculptra® with a cannula for the lower lids. He is also adept at using Radiesse® for chin augmentation and to fill in horizontal neck lines.
For your eyes only
‘Atenea’ is the name that Dr Natalia Ribé of Barcelona chose to call her technique for the tear trough area, in honour of an ancient Greek goddess who was admired for her beautiful eyes. ‘My personal technique for filling the tear trough area is by using a needle by means of a linear, retrograde and fan-like injection, administered at two injection points. In this way I can cover the total area of the tear trough. Using the needle allows me to control the plane of injection and the amount of product injected with a lesser degree of inflammation. The injection must be done slowly and carefully and the patient experiences no discomfort at all,’ she said.
Her product of choice is Teosyal® Redensity II, which is designed to correct the area under the eyes for a longer duration. ‘This new HA combines natural ingredients, a delicate balance between a low level of semi-reticulated HA (to reduce the risk of oedema), with a perfect viscoelasticity (to maximise the ease of injection and make the correct positioning of the product easier); with amino acids, mineral antioxidants and vitamins to help improve skin quality. We can achieve a very good and long-lasting result for such a difficult area to treat,’ she said.
