Other Cosmetic Surgery

Plastic Surgery Fillers - Artecoll

Artecoll, used in cosmetic plastic surgery as permanent soft tissue filler, is injected under the skin to plump up wrinkles and reduce folds of skin associated with aging such as the nasolabial fold which runs from the corner of the nose to the edges of the mouth. and Drug Administration (FDA) in December, 2006, to treat nasolabial folds with the added condition that a five-year follow up study of patients using Artecoll must be done. Artecoll is mostly collagen, one of the most abundant substances in all mammals. The thinning of collagen in human faces is responsible for aging, wrinkles and lines on the face.[1] Artecoll consists of 25 percent microscopic beads made of a substance known as polymethylmethacrylate suspended in a solution of 75 percent bovine collagen. The microspheres are 32–40 micrometers in diameter (500 micrometers could fit in the period at the end of this sentence). Some researchers have found that large lumps under the skin known as granulomas developed after Artecoll injections. The lumps are a reaction to the injections and can be difficult for doctors to treat. As such many practitioners have tapered of their use of Artecoll in recent years. Although it is the only filer on the market that may be permanent, the down-sides of Artecoll as a plastic surgery filler may outweigh the up-sides. Dr. Backstein, Toronto plastic surgeon, has found that Artecoll does not provide a great bang-for-your-buck in that it requires a large volume of the product (at significant expense) to provide what most patients would describe as adequate filling of the wrinkle, scar, furrow, etc.