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Collagen
The way your skin looks is directly related to the way your skin is supported. Aging, disease, and injury - are some of the factors that can weaken the collagen fibers that give your skin its underlying strength. Until the 1970s, it wasn't possible for doctors to replace damaged collagen. Now, Collagen which is made of highly purified bovine collagen is available. These materials can be injected into your skin to supplement your body's own collagen and actually fill certain lines and facial furrows.
Collagen lends additional support to the collagen network within the skin. When a physician injects small amounts of Collagen directly into areas where the body's own collagen has been weakened, depressions can be raised to the level of the surrounding skin. Thus, lines and scars can be minimized, texture is improved, and the skin has a softer and more even tone. We will inquire about your medical history and administer a skin test to determine if you are an appropriate candidate for treatment.
Zyderm Collagen was formulated especially for people with small or superficial contour problems. It can be particularly effective in smoothing delicate frown and smile lines, as well as the fine creases that develop at the corners of the eyes and above and below the lips. It can also help correct certain kinds of shallow scars. Zyplast Collagen was designed to treat depressions requiring a stronger material. It is used for more pronounced contour problems (such as deeper scars, lines, and furrows) and for areas upon which more force is being exerted (such as the corners of the mouth). Depressions with sharp edges and narrow "ice pick" acne scars do not usually respond to these materials. Injectable collagen treatments are not meant for people who have excess facial skin or for those who want a major resurfacing of the skin. However, we often use Collagen in conjunction with facial cosmetic surgery to fill in depressions not amenable to surgery. By using injectable collagen following eyelid lift, brow lift, laser skin resurfacing, or dermabrasion, surgical results can be enhanced.
Treatment can begin after the four-week test observation period if you are not sensitive to the skin test. Treatment involves a series of office visits usually two weeks apart. Most patients see considerable improvement in one to three treatment sessions depending on the size, shape, and texture of the area undergoing treatment. Most patients feel comfortable in resuming their normal activities following treatment. Temporary puffiness and occasional enythema or bruising of the treated areas, are possible and should subside within a few days.
Touch-up injections are usually needed to maintain maximum correction. Because Collagen is similar to your own skin, it will be altered by the same ongoing mechanical forces such as smiling or other muscle activity and biochemical processes such as aging and active acne that caused the original skin depressions. Most patients who choose to receive touch-ups for lines or furrows do so within 3 to 12 months of the original treatment series. With further treatment, the time between touch-ups may be longer and amount used to restore full correction may be considerably less than that used in the initial treatment series. |
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