In January 2007, the FDA changed the face of non-invasive surgery (and the faces of patients who choose it) forever by approving the product Artefill. Artefill is a filler that can be injected during cosmetic treatments to improve facial structure.



Studies have shown Artefill lasts at least 10 years, so patients who choose non-invasive procedures using the filler will look forward to long-term or permanent results. Previously, non-surgical procedures were performed using only a product called Radiesse as a filler, which lasted about 10 months.

One non-invasive procedure that has gained nation-wide popularity, non-surgical rhinoplasty, or the “15-minute nose job," is the top alternative to the invasive rhinoplasty procedure whose graphic reenactments have grossed out millions on television shows such as “Nip/Tuck" and “The Real Housewives of Orange County."

The non-surgical nose job procedure was developed four years ago by L.A.’s Alexander Rivkin, M.D., who has performed over 500 such procedures. Dr. Rivkin’s innovations in the non-invasive medical arena have gained international media attention, including appearances on both “The Today Show" and “The Tyra Show."

Non-surgical rhinoplasty is used to solve a slew of nose and profile woes. It can disguise bumps on the nasal bridge; raise and define broad or low nasal bridges; lift drooping nasal tips; and make the nose symmetrical, whether asymmetry is natural or the result of a surgical nose job gone wrong.

Surgery is needed to reduce the size of the nose or change the position of the nostrils, but by using non-surgical rhinoplasty to make the nose smooth and even, Rivkin reduces the appearance of nose size.

“Because when your eye can’t focus on something that’s asymmetric or something that is off, it blends into the rest of your face and becomes smaller (in appearance)," Rivkin said.

Non-surgical rhinoplasty and other non-invasive procedures help patients forgo the pain, recovery time, bruising and risk of going under the knife.

Rivkin now also uses Artefill for chin and cheek augmentations, formerly only possible through the use of silicone implants and invasive surgery. Rivkin’s version of this procedure allows for the same permanent volume correction without having to go under the knife.