Injectable fillers
What are injectable fillers?
Risks
Fat
Radiance
Restylane
Recovery
What are injectable fillers?
Injectable fillers are one tool for reducing
the appearance of fine wrinkles and lines. Fillers
can also reduce soft tissue defects from surgery,
an accident or even acne.
Fat and Restylane are commonly used at Penn.
Several other types of fillers are also available,
so talk to your plastic surgeon if you are interested
in a specific product.
During the consultation
with your plastic surgeon, the physician will
examine your skin and recommend the best type
of filler for you. Your doctor may recommend
a different procedure or suggest using an injectable
filler in conjunction with other treatments.
When injected just below the surface of the
skin, these substances plump or fill out the
area. Though the results are immediate, it is
important to know that for most products they
are only temporary. Depending on the filler
and your genetics, results can last from three
months to a year. With fat or dermis the results
may be more permanent.
Risks
Surgery has risks,
but you can help prevent complications by carefully
following your physician's instructions both
before and after surgery. Talk with your plastic
surgeon to be sure you understand the potential
risks and complications. If you don't understand
something, ask!
Fat
Fat injections fill out wrinkles and lines that
develop from laughing, squinting, frowning and
other facial movements. The plastic surgeon
carefully removes fat from another part of your
body -- such as the abdomen, thighs, buttocks
or hips -- then separates the fat from blood
and other body fluids, purifies it and injects
it into the appropriate areas.
In the past, fat injections were usually a
temporary measure, because the fat would eventually
be reabsorbed by the body. Now, newer techniques
allow the newly introduced fat to develop its
own blood supply. Fat transferred in this way
lasts longer and may be permanent.
Radiance
Radiance is a relatively new synthetic filler.
The long-term effects of the product are still
unknown, but results are believed to be permanent.
To reverse the procedure, the substance must
be surgically removed.
Restylane
An increasingly popular filler, Restylane is
made of a substance that naturally occurs in
the human body. Its results tend to be more
natural and last, on average, eight to 12 months.
Currently, it is approved to treat only a few
areas, including the lips and nasiolabial folds
(the folds between the nose and the outer ends
of the mouth).
Recovery
After the procedure, you'll have some swelling
and possibly bruising. Depending on the extent
of your the procedure, some people return to
work the same day. Others return to work and
other routine activities within 48 hours, at
the very latest.
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