Soft Tissue Fillers

Soft tissue fillers are used to correct various facial lines and folds. There have been a variety of fillers on the market over the years including silicone, collagen and fat.

In recent years “hyaluronic acid” products such as Restylane, Hylaform, and Juvederm® have become very popular. Hyaluronic acid is a basic building block of the dermis (one of the layers of our skin). It binds water and is responsible for or skin volume. The amount of hyaluronic acid in the skin decreases with age and it’s loss results in reduced dermal hydration and increased skin wrinkling. It would be very beneficial if we could conserve our hyaluronic acid, as we would have younger looking skin. Unfortunately we cannot. Several companies have learned how to manufacture hyaluronic acid.

Examples of Soft Tissue Fillers with hyaluronic Acid in them include:

• Restylane, Restylane fine lines, Perlane
• Hylaform, Hylaform plus
• Juvederm® 18, 24, 30

The injection of these products is done in an office setting under topical and local anesthesia. The procedure takes 5-20 minutes depending upon how many areas are injected. The hyaluronic acid products generally last eight to twelve months with some variation between patients.

Examples of where they can be used include:

• horizontal forehead lines,
• vertical lines between the brows,
• nasolabial folds (beside the nose),
• marionette lines (beside the mouth),
• down turning of the mouth,
• lip volume,
• depressed scars,
• various facial expression lines, etc.

The cost depends upon how much is used.Which soft tissue filler to use depends on what type of line or fold the patient would like filled, and a careful discussion of the risks and benefits with the physician.

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