The ever-popular Juvederm made the news this week along with a suggested FDA warning about possible serious, but rare, complications with facial fillers.
First the “likes.” Chicago Julius Few, M.D. a plastic surgeon and clinical professor of surgery at the University of Chicago asked a group of 235 patients receiving the facial filler, Juvederm Voluma XC, to rate the improvements in their faces at:
- Six months
- Two years after injections of facial fillers
The Juvederm Volumna XC facial fillers were given above the cheek, in the “apple” of the cheek, below the cheek bone and in the upper gums.
(See some non-surgical nose job before & after pictures.)
The most common treatment reactions at facial fillers injection sites were:
- Mild to moderate tenderness
- Swelling
- Firmness, lumps or bumps lasting two weeks
At six months after treatment, 92.8 percent said their cheek areas were improved or much improved.
But at two years after the injections, 75.8 percent said they were still satisfied with their outer and lower cheek areas as well as their cheek bone projections.
(Look at some surgical before & after face and neck lift photos.)
In more practical terms, the study group said they looked five years younger at the six-month point. That number fell off at the two-year point, when the average response was looking three years younger.
That’s not surprising, because of all the facial fillers, Juvederm is known to dissolve although the Voluma XC version is said to last longer and do a better job “cross-linking.”
(Read the facial fillers article.)
The real surprise was patients rating their facial fillers improvements higher than the plastic surgeon study evaluators.
(Look at some chin augmentation before & after photos.)
The F.D.A weighed in on all facial fillers, asking manufacturers to make clearer warnings about serious injuries caused by unintended injections of facial fillers into facial blood vessels.
It’s a rare, but very serious, complication that could block blood vessels, cause vision impairment, blindness, stroke and or skin death.
(See some chemical wrinkle remover before & after photos.)
Bottom line: really know your injector and how long he or she has injected facial fillers. Ask for before and after pictures to show the doctors’ skill.
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