Hyaluronic acid is a substance found in all living organisms. For medical cosmetic purposes we use Restylane®, Restylane Fine Lines®, Perlane® and Hylaform®. These injectable implants are manufactured synthetically and thus are absolutely free from allergenic material, pathogens or impurities. A condition that gives the patient an even greater amount of safety and the benefit of not having to wait for the result of an allergy test, which is unnecessary.

Indication
Due to differences in concentration and viscosity there are different indications for each available product. Treating very superficial and fine wrinkles (upper lip, "smokers wrinkles" or "crows feet") usually Restylane Fine Lines® is chosen. Restylane® can be the implant of choice for the correction of wrinkles, folds and to augment thin or atrophic lips, depending on the region. If contouration of certain facial areas (cheeks, chin), the treatment of very deep folds or scars or to add more volume to the lips Perlane® offers an appropriate preparation.

Treatment
Prior to injecting hyaluronic acid into the desired regions usually a local anaesthetic (EMLA® cream) is applied for some time to make the application less uncomfortable for the patient. Using ultrafine needles the implants are injected precisely into the chosen areas. After the treatment cool-packs can be applied to sooth the skin if necessary.

After the treatment
For the first 2 hours after the injection no make-up should be used to avoid irritation of the injection sites. Despite being a relatively straightforward and easy procedure it is of great importance for the patient and the surgeon to outline a clearly defined individual treatment plan. This should take into account the patients desires and personal conceptions.

Results
Usually the result is seen directly after application, sometimes it may be that a slight swelling or reddening may persist for a couple of hours. Previously marked wrinkles are lifted up to the level of the surrounding skin, deep scares are raised and less noticeable and formerly thin lips present good contour and volume. Many patients chose to have repetitive treatments due to the resorption of the implants. How quickly they actually disappear varies individually. Most patients decide to have wrinkles retreated after about 1 year and lips augmented after approximately half a year.