The use of injectable fillers is for smoothing, or at least decreasing, certain facial lines and creases. Their use has taken off in popularity since the introduction of hyaluronic-acid based fillers in 2002. Because of patient demand, the number of commercially-available filler types and manufacturers has expanded to over a dozen currently. The vast majority of injectable filler use is for the reduction of the depth of the nasolabial fold, which is FDA-approved, and for lip augmentation which is an off-label use.
Despite the large number of people who have been treated and their vast marketing awareness, they are certainly many potential patients who have not taken advantage of their benefits. Some may wonder as to what they would look like if they were treated but they have not yet been daring enough to come in for treatment. To address that issue, one manufacturer has created an online Treatment Visualizer so one can see the potential results.
Juvederm, manufactured by Allergan, has an online tool to see the potential benefits of being injected in numerous facial areas. Using your own uploaded photo or selecting from a patient from their gallery, you can see the effects of Juvederm injections on nasolabial folds, smile lines, vertical lip lines, or chin wrinkles. Using a manually operated slide, you can see a range of effects of softening lines and wrinkles in these areas. They are quite specific about pointing out that this is an illustrative tool and not a guarantee of injected results.
While no computer prediction can show any patient exactly what any treatment results will really be, this Treatment Visualizer is a very useful educational tool. Every patient no doubt believes that improvement with Juvederm injections will occur. But is it worth it and are the results enough? That is exactly what is shown. This visualization system can demonstrate better what results can be than anything I can say to my patients in my Indianapolis plastic surgery practice. It is probably best that a prospective patient upload one of their own photos rather than use one of their gallery pics. That is quite easy to do, right from your cell phone if need be. Seeing changes on yourself is always more illustrative than on someone else.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana