Radiesse is a semi-permanent injectable filler that has been in clinical use for over a decade since its initial FDA approval inj 2004.. It is unique amongst injectable fillers because of its composition and mechanism of action. It is composed of approximately 30% calcium hydroxyapatite spheres contained in a 70% aqueous gel carrier. The aqueous gel carrier is comprised of sodium carboxymethycellulose, glycerin and water. There are no human or animal derived components in it. While the aqueous gel carrier gets absorbed, the calcium hydroxypatite spheres remain much longer leading to a collagen reaction that creates a sustained volume retention result.
Radiesse Plus contains 0.3% lidocaine and has recently received FDA approval. Its approval was based on a clinical study with over 100 patients who had ‘regular’ Radiesse injected on one side of their face and Radiesse plus on the other side. Based on pain ratings patients rated their pain about 6.7 on a scale of 0 to 10 for the side of the face injected with ‘regular’ Radiesse compared to about 2.3 on the same scale for the side of the face treated with Radiesse Plus. One hour after treatment, patients rated their pain about 1.1 on a scale of 0 to 10 for the side of the face injected with Radiesse compared to about 0.3 on the same scale for the side of the face treated with Radiesse Plus.
Not surprisingly, Radiesse that contains a local anesthetic is less painful to inject. This is compatible with what all of the hyaluronic acid-based fillers that have previously incorporated a similar approach have shown. This is particularly useful in an injectable filler like Radiesse which by its composition is thicker to inject and takes a bigger needle to do so.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana