Little Girl with an Old Face

On Monday, February 1, 2010, the TODAY Show had a riveting segment on a 13-year-old English girl with the face of a 50-year-old woman.  She is the victim of a genetically-determined disease called Lipodystrophy Syndrome.   In this disease, there is little or no subcutaneous fat, so the skin is not supported or filled with fat, and the normal facial shapes that we associate with youth are absent.   This girl indeed looks 50.   Her mother, who is 40 but looks 70, has the same syndrome, as do three of her seven siblings.

This heart-wrenching story highlights the obvious psychological trauma that awaits this young girl as she enters her teens, when peer criticism typically ranges from acute to mean.  

As a plastic surgeon, I can think of a number of treatment options to fill her face so she looks like a teenager.   Sculptra, an injectable poly L lactic acid first used in men with AIDS and now approved by the FDA for aesthetic facial filling, would be an excellent option.  It is long lasting, extremely effective for global filling, and has not shown any allergic reactions.  It is basically the same material used for decades to dissolve sutures.  Therefore, I do not see any contraindication in a young girl.   Since she does not have fat to spare, we cannot transfer fat as a graft, which would be another good option.  

I am trying to reach out to this family.  The course of this young girl’s psychological life can be dramatically changed with two office visits and Sculptra!   Her mom needs to know that this is available. 

As the author of The Brown Fat Revolution, I make the point that fat is the most important determinant of facial aging.  The effects of Lipodystrophy Syndrome illustrate that point.  This 13-year-old face doesn’t look old due to gravity, the descent of tissue, or wrinkles, the common characteristics that we think cause aging.  The only missing structure is fat!  Women need fat to look young and healthy.  They need toned, well-structured brown fat!   Brown fat is the answer to an ageless face.