A review of dermal fillers in facial plastic surgery

Abstract

Over the last decade, injectable soft tissue fillers have become an integral part of facial plastic surgery practice. The vast choice of new products being brought to the market, improved safety profile, lower costs in the current economic climate and high street availability mean that demand for nonsurgical rejuvenation treatments are increasing at an exponential rate and are no longer the preserve of the affluent. Recent published work has focused on the addition of local anaesthetic into fillers, widening their indications, reporting longer term results, avoidance of complications, regulation and future directions. The refinement of techniques to restore facial volume with dermal fillers, and widely available botulinum (BTX) injections to treat dynamic facial rhytids, fuelled by widespread mainstream advertising, has led to a surge in demand for nonsurgical rejuvenation procedures. An increasingly well informed and discerning patient population now seek better value procedures that require minimal downtime and have instant results. A thorough knowledge of the dermal fillers available for soft tissue facial augmentation is therefore essential to any clinician involved in facial plastic surgery.