I'll preface with this. When I finally pulled the trigger back in 2019 to get dermal fillers, in the back of my head I knew my end goal would be something substantial so long as it was safe and functional.
I took a break from
PMMA due to logistics, COVID and because I wanted to be a bit patient with watching options develop. All of a sudden,
HA practitioners began popping up with pleasing results, rumours of practitioners using other fillers began swirling (such as
Ellanse, Scultpra,
Radiesse, etc) and I wanted to just wait and see.
In early 2023 I stumbled across two
HA practitioners in the greater Toronto area. The consult at one just was not for me. The second seemed more cautious about my
PMMA and his bedside manner seemed agreeable to me. I went a couple of times for
HA. His approach was a bit rudimentary compared to my prior experience at Avanti. Topical numbing only, small amounts of
HA (to be cautious, which I totally agreed with, this is not a knock), product placement always seemed to be in line with the trend some practitioners have of just placing it on top. It gives it a pronounced appearance
Flaccid but that's about it. Not ideal in my mind. I wasn't overly thrilled with the aesthetics and still wanted more but I was kind of told to wait. Of course nothing changed.
Fast forward several months and I randomly did a Google search, scrolled and found Leonardo Medicine. Never had seen the result before in a search. I checked out his site and did some digging, doctor seemed quite accredited. His results pictures were also excellent. So I finally reached out and he did a virtual consultation. Initially it was for his Hybrid Filler, which is a blend of
HA for bulking and
Radiesse to promote collagen growth more akin to the sphere based fillers like
PMMA and
Ellanse but not as permanent. He wanted to wait while he talked to other doctors who have come across
PMMA patients and talked to
Radiesse's manufacturer to get their input.
We decided to not try
Radiesse at the time.
But he was willing to add size and do an aesthetic correction with
HA. I was stoked. Lol.
Arrived at the clinic. It's in a building that was once residential it appeared but has been fully renovated. I'd compare his suite to a large two bedroom apartment. There is also a physiotherapy office, some type of medical testing clinic and I think a family practice and his independent office. Clean bright procedure room, secondary room and office, washroom, consultation and waiting area. I honestly love his practice. You feel private and comfortable. For anyone who has seen Avanti's office, similar clean and comfortable space. Parking is easy, highway access is easy.
Anyway. Topical numbing. Then an injected nerve block. Then for most patients an injection to induce an
Erection (Trimix I think it's called?). This never worked for me so we stopped using it and I had more luck just inducing one without for whatever reason. He prefers to inject
Erect or at the very least see it
Erect so he can have
Erect aesthetics in mind when filling. He uses some type of light that shows veins etc to make it even easier to work with the cannula or other syringes. Whole thing usually takes about an hour and a half from going in until leaving, give or take.
After my first fill, I was very happy with my aesthetics. At no point beyond that was it really to overly correct anything. Most guys would have been very happy at that point honestly.
So full disclosure, I have had quite a bit done. I am extremely happy with it. He can definitely do a very natural looking minor enhancement for those that want it, I've seen many of his results like that and talked to guys here in PM and on Reddit who ended up going and were very happy with half an
Inch or an
Inch.
Here's all of my appointments and volumes excluding this week. The attached pics are one comparison from when I first went to him and then prior to my most recent appointment (I was there for a hair treatment study a couple weeks ago and offered for him to take a pic).
August 7, 2023: 10 syringes of Revanesse Ultra (1.2mL for each syringe)
September 18, 2023: 8 syringes Revanesse Ultra
October 10, 2023: 8 syringes Ultra
October 30, 2023: 6 syringes Revanesse Contour
November 28, 2023: 4 syringes Contour
December 18, 2023: 5 syringes Contour
January 19, 2024: 6mL PRP
Not shown in pics below is what I am now, I went in yesterday for:
April 1, 2024: 8 syringes Contour + 6mL PRP
I will update and share more pics if the interest is there.
All summarized, I've been very happy. The addition of the PRP to the filler layer seems to have also helped keep things feeling very nice. I can't really say enough good things.