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"Acne Skin Repair Can Present Problems..."

The rush for facial perfection may have a down side. Some startling news about skin fillers has just emerged from the laboratory.  This fillers are sometimes used to repair acne scars.

Spanish researchers studying skin fillers have found that polyalkylimide implants may lead to potentially severe, adverse immune-related effects.  All seems well short after the procedure but the bad news appears within a few months after the treatment.

What is "polyalkylimide"?  These and implants consisting of a gel and water compound. 

Augment Lips & Cheeks

Polyalkylimide implants are designed to augment lips, cheeks, the forehead, and lines that develop between the nose and mouth called nasolabial folds. Jaume Alijotas-Reig, M.D., Ph.D. and colleagues noted that, "According to the manufacturer's information, polyalkylimide structures do not change over time and do not move or migrate."

In the early reports on polyalkylimide implant injections for cosmetic purposes, there were no significant signs of bioincompatibility [rejection of or reaction to the foreign material]. However, more recent evidence refutes these statements, and so the complete safety of polyalkylimide implant gels can no longer be assured."

The researchers assessed 25 patients who had polyalkylimide implant injections and presented adverse effects at one year or longer after the procedure.

The patients showed a variety of reactions such as: swelling, hardening and swollen or tender nodules (skin lesions) around the site of injection, and systemic events such as fever, arthritis and dry eyes or mouth.

The researchers found that eight of the patients studied were previously injected with another implant compound. Tender inflammatory nodules were evident in 24 patients. Systemic manifestations appeared in six cases and laboratory abnormalities were found in 20 cases. After an average of 21.3 months of follow-up, 11 patients appeared to be free of adverse effects and 10 still had recurrent bouts.

It is too soon to know exactly how prevalent these tardy adverse effects are. One reason is that many physicians fail to report negative events, leaving researchers without complete information about patients who underwent similar procedures in the same time period.

Polyalkylimide implants have become very popular in European countries and in the United States.  Any patient considering such treatments should ask for a clear explanation from their physician and the long to intermediate terms effects and dangers of the procedure.

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Watch Out for Cosmetic Skin Fillers

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