Collagen

Wrinkle Fillers

How Wrinkle Fillers Work

Wrinkles are visible because they are lower or deeper than surrounding skin. Light casts shadows into them, making them visible. When you see wrinkles, you are actually looking at the shadow, not the wrinkle. If wrinkles can be brought to the same level as surrounding skin, their visibility will diminish because the accompanying shadows will be nonexistent. This can be accomplished by either lowering the surrounding skin or raising each wrinkle. Chemical peel, Dermabrasion, and Laser Resurfacing lower the surrounding skin. Fillers aim to raise the wrinkle.

The Procedure

Using fine needles, your plastic surgeon can inject fillers into your skin under each wrinkle. The filler pushes the depressed wrinkle outward and makes it less visible. This procedure involves temporary discomfort, associated with the needle. Once the injection is complete, there is no more discomfort. You may apply make-up immediately and return to your usual activities.

Collagen Options

• Bovine collagenextracted from cow skin, then purified, sterilized, and processed into liquid form.
• Autologen injection is collagen from your own skin, harvested during a previous operation and processed
  into liquid form
• Isolagen injection is collagen from your own skin, cloned in a laboratory and processed into liquid
  form
• Dermalogen is collagen from human cadaver skin which has been sterilized, purified, and processed into liquid form.

Bovine Collagen

Bovine collagen injections last 6-12 weeks. Because of transient effect, possible allergic reactions, and potential connective tissue disorders, doctors have turned to other alternatives.

Autologen

When you have a tummy tuck, facelift, breast lift, or other operations in which skin is removed, your skin may be sent to a commercial laboratory that extracts collagen, sterilizes it, and prepares it for re-injection. The amount of collagen yielded depends on the amount of skin removed. Expect to obtain enough from tummy tuck skin to fill several facial wrinkles three to five times. A total of 2-4 injections may be performed at one to three month intervals. Your processed liquid collagen
can be stored for five years if you do not need it all at once. Although Autologen injections appear to last longer than bovine collagen injections, duration is variable. Some doctors may claim that the effect is permanent. If your doctor claims this, be skeptical. This has not been proven.

Isolagen

Isolagen is made of cloned collagen-making cells which are derived from your own skin. First, a piece of skin the size of a pencil eraser will be removed from behind your ear by your plastic surgeon and sent to the Isolagen lab. Within a few weeks, the lab will send your Isolagen to your surgeon. A minimum of three injections are recommended at two week intervals. The first injection will improve your wrinkles by about 15%, the second injection by 35%, and the third injection by 70%. Because live cells are injected, improvement may continue for several months after the last injection. Isolagen,
unlike bovine collagen, theoretically does not need maintenance injections. Presumably, the benefit gained will eventually dissipate, and you will need another series of injections. Whether your next set of injections will be within months or years of your first is not known.

Dermalogen

Dermalogen is obtained from deceased human donors. It may last longer than bovine collagen and minimizes the problems of allergic reactions and connective tissue disorders. Unlike Isolagen or Autologen, it neither requires skin removal nor a waiting period for its preparation. Transmission of infection from the human donor is a theoretical risk, but because
Dermalogen is sterilized and processed, transmission of infection has not occurred. Two or three injections are recommended at one to two month intervals to achieve maximal benefit. Maintenance injections are supposedly not needed, although the benefit is expected to dissipate over months or years, at which time a new series of injections will
be needed.

Cost per session

Assuming about 1 ml is injected during each session, the following prices include the collagen and the surgeon’s fee:

Bovine collagen: $300 to $800 per session

Autologen: $800 to $1000 per session.

Isolagen: $1000 to $1500 for each session.

Dermalogen: $500 to $1000 per session.

Alternatives

Many people find that a combination of Botox and Laser Resurfacing will achieve more dramatic and longer lasting results.

In addition, newer injectable materials are being developed each day, such as Radiance, Restylane, Hyalaform, and many others. Each of these agents has its own unique set of advantages and disadvantages.