Background
Minimally invasive procedures, such as the use of fillers, are becoming increasingly important in aesthetic plastic surgery. Fillers are commonly used for tissue augmentation and skin rejuvenation. Use of fillers enables good aesthetic results to be achieved with a significantly lower risk for major complications with than invasive surgery.
Methods
The present article combines extracts from current literature with personal experiences to provide an overview of the currently used fillers and their related complications in clinical application.
Results
Resorbable fillers have better biocompatibility and lower complication rates than non-resorbable fillers. The most common indications in the face are the nasolabial and puppet folds, the lips, the cheek bone, and the cheek region. Depending on application site and the preparation used, various injection techniques are employed. Injection errors are easy to detect and easiest to correct for hyaluronic acid products. The most common negative result is superficial injection of filling material for deeper layers. The use of excessively high filling volumes, excessively large bolus injections, and too frequent injections lead to aesthetically unattractive deformations and disorders of facial topography known as “overfilling syndrome”. The most common filler-related adverse events include pigmentation changes, edema and post injection deformations.
Conclusion
Knowledge of the different properties of filling materials and their professional application is indispensable for a safe and optimal result. Early recognition of filler-related adverse effects is important to avoid major complications.