01.14.09
Are Dermal Fillers Safe?
Recently the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gathered a panel of experts to discuss possible safety concerns regarding the use of dermal fillers. Originally approved by the FDA to fill in lines along the nasolabial fold (the so-called marionette lines) they are now being used in many other areas of the face to increase volume, including the lips. The extensive use of fillers is coming under FDA scrutiny as the use of fillers spreads, not only across faces but across populations. Fillers originally tested on fair-skinned people, for example, may present hyperpigmentation problems when used on darker-skins.
Plastic surgeon Dr. Sherrell Aston had this to say about the increasing popularity of this cosmetic technique: “Fillers are being overdone. People are being told they need volume replacement when they haven’t lost volume. Some people are having fillers to the point of looking odd with faces that are just too big for their body, and contour problems like lumps and bumps becoming noticeable. Does it seem logical that one can repetitively put foreign substances in the delicate facial tissues and not have problems later?”
More information is coming out about the potential risks associated with the use of Botox (see Return of the Zombies in my blog) and I am glad to see other cosmetic procedures enjoying a bit of the spotlight. In addition to potential safety issues there is also, lest we forget, an aesthetic downside. Refashioning the lips so that they occupy one third of the face and stick out past one’s nose just looks silly. A balloon face floating down the street is probably not going to inspire wolf whistles. And a face devoid of expression deformed by random lumps and outsized lips is not going to get one in a beauty pageant line-up, at least I hope not.
A bit of ancient Greek wisdom we might do well to remember, “Everything in moderation,” certainly applies to cosmetic procedures such as Botox and dermal fillers.
