While, dermal fillers may smooth out your deep facial lines and wrinkles, however, you may want to think twice before using this immensely popular cosmetic procedure, as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agency has ordered a review of all reports relating to the unexpected side effects of this wrinkle treatment.
 
According to Dr. Dave Hnida, CBS4’s Medical Editor, dermal fillers are quite dissimilar to Botox, as they are basically injections of animal and chemical collagen and protein given under the surface of the skin to smooth and plump up the skin, reduce scarring, and fill in the lines of aging e.g. wrinkles and deep creases.  Commonly used around the eyes, nose and mouth, consumers prefer them to surgical face lifts, as they are less invasive and the results are very natural looking.
 
So far, the FDA has received 1000-cases of some serious reactions to these products, leading it to appoint a panel of experts to review and change product warning labels if required, so that consumers are warned about any unexpected side effects.  While, dermal filler manufacturers do acknowledge minor swelling as a common side effect, FDA has received reports of severe life threatening allergic reactions leading to shock, facial paralysis and disfigurement, including severe abscesses and boils.
 
Though, dermal fillers like the very popular Restylane, Juvederm, Perlane and Artefil have been around for almost 20-years, they have only begun taken off in the past 10-years or so, with more than two million people, most of them women, who have had wrinkle filler injections in the past year.
 
FDA has not yet pinpointed the high risk products, though safety concerns have been raised about Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation’s Restylane, Allergan Inc.’s Juvederm, and BioForm Medical’s Radiesse.  However, Botox, which is a muscle relaxer and not a filler, finds no mention in the report.
 
However, Dr. Hnida does point out that most of the above problems occurred when the injections were administered “by untrained personnel or in settings other than health clinics or doctors’ offices”, usually in people on their second, third or fourth series of injections.
 
Unfavorable product reports has led FDA to entrust an advisory panel with the task of reviewing the product’s warning labels, so as to alert consumers about possible risks, including new safety testing procedures.