The dermal fillers are not injected into the muscle, but rather into the skin at the top of the muscle. Injectable silicone is not approved for any aesthetic procedure, including facial and body contouring or enhancement, as it can cause long-term pain, infections, and serious injuries. Most of the side effects associated with dermal fillers occur soon after the injection, and many go away within a few weeks. Swelling and pain after hand treatment can last for a month or longer.
In some cases, the side effects of a dermal filler injection may appear weeks, months, or years after the injection. Since some dermal fillers naturally absorb over time, patients may need to repeat the procedure after a while to maintain the desired effect. Dermal fillers and Botox injections can be used to treat facial wrinkles, but they work differently to achieve this result. Injecting dermal fillers into the face and hands can improve the appearance of facial lines and volume loss caused by age or certain medical conditions.
Very soft or “liquid” fillers are generally safe to use on most areas of the face where fine lines would be wanted to be smoothed, but firmer fillers are less likely to produce a result you would like if injected too superficially. Many fillers also have an anesthetic medication in the injectable substance that will help with the discomfort of the fill volume, but does not help with the needle-prick feeling on the skin surface. If furrow lines of deeper soft tissue laxity and volume loss bother you more, then filler injections can smooth out these lines and fill in areas of volume loss. However, they will not lift lax areas of significant soft tissue laxity like surgical lifting procedures. Dermal fillers may not be suitable for people with certain conditions, such as bleeding disorders or some allergies.
The safe use of dermal fillers in combination with Botox and other treatments has not been evaluated in clinical studies. When considering whether or not to inject a certain type of filler into a specific area, it is important to have a discussion with your injector about your past experience with this product in this area and the potential risks of injection relevant to the area of concern and specific filler proposed for use. People should be tested for allergies before receiving dermal fillers made with certain materials, especially animal-derived materials such as collagen. It may be difficult or impossible to remove filler material, especially permanent fillers or fillers that are not made of materials that are normally resorbed.
