Playing the Long Game

By: Mr Dalvi Humzah
Created on 20th September 2011

Top cosmetic surgeon Mr Dalvi Humzah explains the benefits of long term filler Aquamid for facial sculpting and reconstruction

I was one of the first surgeons in the Midlands to offer Aquamid when I introduced it into my practice last year and since then I have discovered some significant benefits of the product for both cosmetic and reconstructive use.

Cosmetic benefits

Aquamid is a very good product to treat any kind of contour defect and is particularly useful for facial sculpting – to build up areas such as the cheeks or chin, where people often seek augmentation. You can even use it for what is called a ‘medical rhinoplasty’, to amend a slight irregularity in the shape of the nose.

The obvious advantage it holds over temporary fillers is that the results last for much longer – with an ordinary dermal filler you would need to come back for a top-up every six to 12 months, whereas Aquamid will stay put for several years.

However, it is important to be careful when using a long term filler like Aquamid for cosmetic purposes – you need to make sure you visit an experienced injector, who knows the product and understands how it works.

Personally, I would hesitate to inject Aquamid for aesthetic purposes in a patient who has never experienced a dermal filler before – once it’s in, the effects last for at least five years, so you need to be confident that you will be happy with the effect.

One area where Aquamid can produce truly outstanding results is in the tricky nose-to-mouth area. Nasolabial folds are most women’s top bugbear when it comes to ageing, and temporary fillers can be both painful and expensive in the long term. Aquamid offers lasting, natural looking results to fill these lines and leave you looking noticeably younger and fresher.

Reconstructing beauty

One really major benefit of Aquamid is in treating facial lipoatrophy in HIV patients – the drugs that these particular patients have to take affect the soft tissues of the face, giving them a ‘wasted’ appearance, and Aquamid can fill out these hollow areas effectively and semi-permanently. In fact, I believe it was first brought to market as a treatment for this condition.

It is also highly effective when used in larger volumes to treat contour defects in the body. I have one male patient who suffers from a condition known as Poland Syndrome, where the muscles of the chest wall don’t develop as they should, so on one side he has a normal looking chest, but the other side is hollow. I’ve used Aquamid to reconstruct the contours on that side, so that he now has a more symmetrical appearance.

Another use that I have discovered recently and have been really impressed with, is in nipple reconstruction. Often after a breast reconstruction women will go on to have nipple reconstruction and it can be very difficult to achieve a natural looking projection to the nipple.

I use a very small amount of Aquamid injected underneath the reconstructed nipple to give it a better projection and form, and that can be hugely rewarding – these women have been through a rollercoaster of emotions throughout the whole process from cancer diagnosis through reconstruction and when you can give them a breast and a nipple that is just as good as what they started with, they walk out of the clinic absolutely joyous.

An injectable implant

Aquamid is almost better compared to an implant than a filler – although it is injected, it has the longevity of an implant and needs to be inserted in the same sterile conditions.

Some practitioners will happily inject a filler in their consulting rooms, but I prefer to administer Aquamid in a minor operating theatre, as it is crucial that no infection get into the product.

However, the big problem with implants, particularly facial implants, is that it’s very difficult to find products that bio-integrate. That means the body will see them as a foreign material and thus a threat, and there is a risk of capsular contraction and infection.

Aquamid does bio-integrate, which means that it allows the ingrowth of blood vessels into it, so that over time it almost forms part of your natural tissue. This means it provides a very natural looking appearance that will move when you do.

You can’t achieve the same extreme projection as you could with a facial implant, for people who want unnaturally high cheekbones, for example, but if you want something that works with the body and looks natural, then Aquamid could well be the answer.

Safety matters

Aquamid has an excellent ten year safety history – one of the best in the industry – and is pending FDA approval, which it hopes to receive later this year.

If you are keen to find out more about Aquamid, it is important to visit a fully-trained practitioner who has been approved by Contura, who manufacture the product and who provide excellent training programmes to ensure that the surgeons, doctors and nurses who inject Aquamid are fully informed on how to inject it and how to deal with any complications.

If you do that, then you can expect a beautiful, lasting result.