Given the potential severity of adverse reactions, Dr. Stefanacci does not use Artefill® for her patients.

This is not to say that ArteFill® has any higher rate of undesirable reactions than other injectable synthetic fillers. Many physicians have had good experiences with these fillers and promote their use. The following information is provided for educational purposes only.

What is Artefill?

• Artefill® is a non re-absorbable injectable dermal filler indicated for the correction of wrinkles known as nasolabial folds or smile lines. The unique microspheres in ArteFill® are not absorbed by the body and therefore provide the permanent support for long lasting wrinkle correction in one or two treatments.

• ArteFill® is a proprietary formulation comprised of polymethlethacrylate, or PMMA microspheres and bovine collagen, therefore, a skin test is required before initial treatment.

• ArteFill®, (Artecol® in Europe) is an injectable filler made up of millions of microscopic beads of polymethylmethacrylate (a plexiglass like polymer) carried in hyaluronic acid, (HA) or collagen. The product has been in use for many years in Europe and offers the benefit of permanent soft tissue augmentation. There is a relatively low reaction rate with Artecol® and its use in small volumes for acne scars or small soft tissue defects, such as after rhinoplasty have shown a good risk-to-benefit ratio.

• Artefil® and other permanent injectable sort tissue fillers such as silicone, have substantial downsides to them. These downsides mainly involve the inability to remove the product without wide local tissue excision.

Why would a patient want the product removed?

Historically, we know that some percentage of patients will have a soft tissue filler placed in not exactly the right position. In the case of HA fillers such as Juvederm®, Restylane®, Perlane® or collagen fillers such as Cosmoderm™ and Cosmoplast™ products will gradually be biodegraded into their natural sugar or protein building blocks. In the case of the HA fillers, they can rapidly be removed with the injection of a hyaluronidase such as Wydase® or Vitrease®.

A certain number of patients may experience local (and long term) inflammatory conditions, i.e. reactions to the implant which are known as granulomatous reactions. These can be extremely difficult to get under control even with the use of local injections of corticosteriods. The reactions can last for years and in some cases are quite painful.

In addition, if the product is placed even slightly off from the desired placement, as can often happen with injectable fillers, there is no way to remove or adjust the implant. It requires local tissue excision.

Related Links: www.artefill.com