Dermal fillers are sterile gels that consist of cross-linked non-animal based hyaluronic acid. These may contain in addition 0.3% lidocaine (a local anaesthetic agent).

Dermal fillers are injected into the skin to correct lines, wrinkles and folds in the faces, to sculpt lips and enhance facial contours. They are also used to restore elasticity of skin and reduce irregularities in the skin’s surface.

Depending on the treated are and injection technique, effects from dermal fillers can last 6 to 12 months (lips around 6 months), but this period may vary, either longer or shorter. Follow-up treatment helps maintain the desired correction.

Common injection-related reactions cause redness, swelling, pain, itching, bruising and tenderness at the implant location. These reactions are generally mild to moderate and usually disappear shortly after injection. They usually resolve spontaneously a few days after injection into the skin, within a week after injection into the lips.

I have also been informed of the risks involved whne injecting areas with underlying sensitive structures (e.g. nerves, vessels and eyes when treating wrinkles around eyes).

There are isolated reports of small lumps devlping at the treatment sites, and irregularities that can last several mnths if injection into the skin is too superficial.

Inflammatory reactions have been reported in rare cases; these have consisted of redness, swelling and induration at the injection location, which can at times affect surrounding tissue. Reactions have arisen either a few days or few weeks after treatment. They have generally been mild to moderate and self-limiting, and the average duration is two weeks. In rare cases, reactions have been recurrent and lasted for several months.

Other adverse events received from post-marketing surveillance for the use of some dermal fillers are less common or rare, including discoloration, nodules, mass/induration, infection/abscess, acne-like formations, granuloma, hypersensitivity reactions, ischemia/necrosis, atrophy/scarring, reactions of herpes iinfection, rash, pruritis, telangiectasia and urticaria.

Rarely, a few people have developed infections/inflammations that must be treated with antibiotics or other treatments.

Isolated rare cases of vision abnormalities including blindness have been reported when dermal filllers such as hyularonic acid are used in areas around the eye, nose and glabella.

I have been informed products containing lidocaine must not be used in individuals with known hypersensitivity to lidocaine or amine-type local anaestehtics. Similar to the administration of dental anaesthtetic, there is diminished sensation to pain and temperature in the treated area for about two hours.

Topical anaesthetics might be used to have additional pain relief if products without lidocaine will be injected. I have received information about what and when topical anaesthetics will be used, and information regarding contraindications, warning/precautions of use of these products and potential side effects.