Restylane Info

Archive for October 9th, 2008

Prior to the rise in popularity of plastic surgery, when people became older, it showed. But thanks to modern dermatology and cosmetic surgery, future generations — at least those who will be able to afford it — may never have to endure sagging facial skin or droopy eyelids again.

But the war being waged against dark spots, emaciated muscle tissue, ropey veins and the other usual symptoms of the no-longer-youthful hand is a relatively recent battle, one that can be more challenging than combating facial wrinkles.

The skin on the hands is generally thinner than facial skin. It has the consistency of an eyelid and may be more sensitive to the indignities of time.

One of the most visible signs of aging in the hands is a loss of volume, which creates hands that look bony, with pronounced veins. Many doctors are frequently using sclerotherapy: injecting veins with a solution that shrinks them.

Some doctors inject the hands with fillers such as Restylane to add volume and render veins and tendons less visible. Restylane injections, which are approved by the FDA for use on the face, generally cost around $3,000 and usually takes just one visit. Results may last up to a year, but can sometimes cause short-term problems such as swelling, bruising, sensitivity and itchiness. If done incorrectly, patients face the risk of having a tendon pierced.

Injections are only one of a medley of available techniques. Still, patients are lining up for the procedures.

For some people, the battle is being fought nocturnally, with moisturizing gloves and thick coats of specially formulated hand creams.

The skin care sector of hand creams and treatments has grown more than 60% globally in the last four years, according to a July report from the Nielsen Company, a marketing research company in Illinois.

Nonsynthetic injections are also an option. Dr. Sydney Coleman, a New York plastic surgeon, has developed a procedure over the last decade that involves putting up to a thousand tiny injections of a person’s own fat into their hands; this “fat grafting” procedure, which costs at least $12,000, is done in-office and, despite the likelihood of patients enduring about three weeks of puffiness and redness, the results last over a decade, he says.