‘Ozempic face,’ the result patients never saw coming

New prescription drugs approved for weight loss are making a dent in this country’s obesity epidemic, but there’s a wrinkle that patients didn’t see coming.

Dr. Linsey Atchison specializes in internal medicine. She said Americans are bursting at the seams, carrying too much weight.

“And with that obesity comes a number of different issues; high blood pressure, high cholesterol. With increased risk of heart attack and stroke. You’re going to have decreased mobility,” she said.

Dr. Atchison helps some of her Ft. Myers patients drop pounds by prescribing one of the new injectable weight loss drugs.

“I remember thinking to myself, these are going to be a game changer,” Atchison said.

Skinny shots are making a huge impact. More than six billion dollars in U.S. sales are estimated this year. Aside from health benefits, people are embracing their slimmed-down selves. With one glaring exception.

“Everyone’s very excited about losing the weight. But what comes along with it, is the skin starts to lose elasticity. We see more wrinkles, along with a hollowed face,” said Andrea Busbee. Owner of Aesthetics by Andrea and a certified physician assistant, she has many clients on weight loss injections.

So does board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Kim. He finds some of his patients are becoming deflated.

“So even though you’re thinner, you might look worse because your skin is sagging everywhere.” Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Kim

It’s leading to what is commonly called “Ozempic face.” Although it applies to any of the classes of injectable medications, the term describes the gaunt look that comes with fast fat loss. The skin can’t catch up and doesn’t snap back either. It can be so pronounced that some people end up seeing a surgeon to pick up the slack.

“Many of the faces we do, patients lose volume in their cheeks. So we either put fat injections or reposition the fat,” said Kim. He is also doing operations, facelifts, and surgery to remove loose skin on the body. “Whether it’s in the breast, the neck or the stomach, and you have to basically cut the skin off.”

Busbee is putting her needles to work, injecting dermal fillers to restore volume. Softening the blow for her weight loss patients. “We have them come in about every five to 10 pounds and evaluate where the loss is, we try and replace that volume with the fillers to help the face stay in the upward direction.”

A lagging, sagging indicator of slimming down, the benefits far outweigh the risks tied to obesity.