Is A Vampire Lift the New Fountain of Youth?

Between Twilight, True Blood, and the many other books, television shows, and movies that have come out on the subject in the past few years, it’s no secret that vampires are the hot topic of the moment. Now they’re making their mark on plastic surgery as well—with a new, quite controversial, procedure many are referring to as the vampire lift. A vampire lift —technically referred to as selphyl injections—is purported by those who perform them to be a more “natural” way to fill in wrinkles or to plump up hollow cheeks. Doctors create selphyl by drawing blood (usually from your arm), spinning it in a centrifuge to separate your platelets from your red blood cells, then mixing the platelets with a fibrin (an insoluble protein). The doctors who are getting behind this process insist that using this self-derived substance does not merely mask the aging process, like Juvederm does, but actually reverses wrinkles and restores elasticity to skin.

The problem with this assertion is that so far, there’s no evidence whatsoever to support it. Regardless of what you may have heard (there’s been some confusion on this point), this procedure—which has only been around since 2009—is not FDA-approved. Nor have any national clinical trials been performed to objectively gauge whether it actually works the way its proponents claim it does.

So who to believe? Well, consider the numbers: Out of thousands of plastic surgeons, so far only a few hundred appear to be performing selphyl injections on their patients and championing them as the new “fountain of youth.” There doesn’t appear to be any serious health risk involved with trying out the vampire lift—provided you go to an experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon, of course—but you’re probably better off spending your hard-earned money on a proven product, such as Juvederm, Botox, Dysport, or Restylane. If you’re interested in finding out which of these cosmetic injectables is best suited to your needs, schedule a free consultation with us here at the San Francisco Plastic Surgery & Laser Center!