Less bruising with facial fillers

BALA CYNWYD, Pa. - Oct.4, 2013 (WPVI) -- Wrinkle fillers like Juvederm and Restylane are a popular way to smooth wrinkles and turn back the hands of time. Now there is a new way, gentler way to use the fillers.

The traditional way fillers are applied is with a needle.

As you can imagine, it can be painful. And some people end up with bad bruising that can last for days.

This new way can help prevent that.

Plastic surgeon Tim Greco says instead of using sharp-pointed needles, which can cause bruising, he uses a cannula. It's a flexible tube with a blunt end.

With a needle, doctors may do a dozen needle sticks.

"Every time you go in, you increase the chances of bruising, swelling, and other complications, such as getting the filler INTO a blood vessel, clotting it.

But with a cannula, it's inserted in ONE spot through a tiny hole, then moved under the skin to insert the filler.

"The cannula, if it comes across blood vessels, it pushes them aside," he said, simulating the motion with his hand.

Colleen Jennings has been getting fillers for 9 years.

She liked the final result, but not what happened right after the injections.

"Typically, I bruise right away, right after I leave the office," Colleen told Action News.

"It gets pretty bad, to where concealer doesn't usually cover it," she continued.

But this time, after getting the fillers by cannula, Colleen went out without concealer.

And 3 days later, she only had a slight bruise under her eye, and nothing around her mouth.

"The amount of complications seen with the cannula are dramatically less," says Dr. Greco.

He and other doctors say for some areas, like the lips, a needle is still better.

But he thinks as new, thicker fillers come out., more plastic surgeons, cosmetic surgeons, and dermatologists will be using cannulas.

As a reminder though, if you have any procedure done, be sure the doctor is board certified for that procedure, and has plenty of experience with the treatment you are having done.

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