Silicone makes comback as facial filler

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This just blows my mind....be sure to watch the video here too....at least they have carefully included both sides. http://www.nbc6.net/dianagonzalez/7333631/detail.html Silicone Makes Comeback As Facial Filler Some Say Product Is Too Risky POSTED: 2:21 pm EST February 22, 2006 UPDATED: 9:47 am EST February 23, 2006 MIAMI -- Restylane, Sculptra and collagen plump up lines, lips and acne scars, but the results are temporary. That's why silicone, a permanent facial filler, is making a controversial cosmetic comeback after being banned for years. At the University of Miami's Department of Cosmetic Dermatology, Dr. Mandy injects liquid silicone to fill in

Mercedes Marquez's acne scars. "Two or three sessions of silicone and their scarring can be improved 60 to 70 percent and they never have to deal with it again," Mandy said. In the early 1990s, health concerns prompted the Food and Drug Administration to pull silicone off the market. "Those of us who had silicone were literally forced to render up our supplies, get rid of what we had of it, and we were forbidden, it was against the law actually, to use it," Mandy said. Then, a few years ago, it became legal for doctors to use purified silicone oil. The FDA approved the product to replace fluid inside the eye, and that opened the door for off-label use as a cosmetic filler. Experts said the key to good results with Silikon 1000 is injecting tiny micro-droplets in a series of treatments weeks apart to stimulate skin-smoothing collagen. Marquez came back to Mandy for round two. "The crater, it

filled up a little bit more. You could see it less," Marquez said. Marquez said she is not concerned about silicone being injected into her face. "I didn't think about the controversy and he told me too that it would be a small, small dosage," she said. But some still think silicone is too risky to use. "I think silicone in and around the mouth, no matter how little you use, can create a problem," said cosmetic surgeon Dr. Wolfe. Wolfe recently removed silicone from a patient's lips because she was very unhappy with the results. "She looks like her lip's hanging down. It's very chapped. Then, there's like a bubble that sticks out on the right side of her lip," Wolfe said. "While it may be beneficial to a few people and I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who will say, 'I've never had any problem with it,' I think in the long run its a bad thing to have in your face." Possible

permanent complications include small lumps, beading and skin redness, according to the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery. Both Wolfe and Mandy agree on one thing: silicone should not be used for standard wrinkles. "The problem is, the aging face is a dynamic thing. It changes all the time. Silicone does not," Mandy said.

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