Restylane®

Restylane is a dermal filler made of hyaluronic acid, a substance that naturally exists within human cells. Unlike other filler products, that are derived from animal sources, Restylane is Non-Animal hyaluronic acid. Restylane is "cross-linked" or stabilized making the material less likely to be degraded and helping with persistence of the volume injected.

Restylane has been used extensively in Europe and Canada since 1996 and received FDA approval for use in the U.S. in 2003.

Restylane can be used to fill lines and wrinkles on the face and to enhance the appearance and fullness of the lips. As the material is soft and pliable, the results are extremely natural.

An anesthetic cream is applied to the skin or a small amount of local anesthetic can be used to lessen the discomfort associated with injection. Most patients will experience mild swelling and temporary redness at the injection site. These effects typically resolve within 1-3 days.

Most of the correction achieved with Restylane will persist at least 3 months with some persistent correction for as long as 6 months.

The cost of Restylane is equivalent ot the cost of collagen injections with twice the longevity of results.

Radiesse®

Radiesse is a filler material made up primarily of Calcium. As such, it is not recognized as "foreign" to the body and is well tolerated when injected into the lips or facial folds. The "spheres" of material are small enough to be able to be injected, yet large enough so that they are not eliminated Over time, the patients own collagen will form a capsule around each sphere maintaining the filling effect.

Radiesse is currently FDA approved for injection into vocal cords and as an injectable tissue marker and has a very safe biocompatibility profile.

Unlike collagen or similar injectable materials which last on average 2-3 months, Radiesse has been shown to persist for at least 2 years and as long as 3 years in studies out of Canada and Europe where it has been used since the late 90's.

The technical material composition is hydroxyapatite in a methylcellulose gel. Since it is a naturally occuring material in human bones, no allergy testing is required

Radiesse can be injected as an office procedure using an anesthetic cream applied to the skin or using small amounts of local anesthesia prior to the injections.

AlloDerm® (acellular dermis) for Facial Folds and Lip Enhancement

AlloDerm® is donated Human Tissue that is processed using a patented technique which removes all epidermal and dermal cells while preserving the remaining biological matrix.

The donor tissue is taken from registered U.S. Tissue Banks following the guidelines of the American Association of Tissue Banks and the FDA. The tissue is screened for any bacterial or viral contamination and further processed to eliminate any potential for pathogens. Over 100,000 grafts have been placed without a single report of infectious transmission.

The tissue is processed as thin sheets for surface grafting and thicker sheets for tissue augmentation. As the overall structure of the collagen and protein matrix is preserved, the patient's own cells can grow into the implanted tissue. By comparison to silicone or Gore-Tex®, AlloDerm®, combined with the patient's own cells, results in a very natural feel.

Sheets can be rolled and placed under the skin in the region of the melolabial (cheek) folds, within the pink lip to augment this area, or used to help fill any facial defects resulting from traumatic or acne scarring.

As with any tissue replacement material, overcorrection is required as some of the material will resorb over time. The degree of resorption of AlloDerm® will vary based on the amount placed, the location in which it is used, and the individual patient's tendency to resorb implanted material. On average, between 20 and 60% of the implanted volume will persist.

Implantation of AlloDerm® can be done in an office setting under local anesthesia. Moderate swelling results from the procedure, however, application of ice helps to minimize this swelling and visible swelling generally dissipates within 48-72 hours.