I have performed more than 1,000 microdroplet silicone injection procedures during the last 8 years with Silikon-1000. This medical grade silicone oil is FDA approved for intraocular injection and thus its use for any other purpose is considered off-label. I use Silikon-1000 in a microdroplet injection technique to rebuild the volume of the face in HIV patients who have lost facial fat due to their disease and treatment. Even in these patients, however, I will not use silicone in the nasolabial folds for the following reason: silicone is a stimulatory filler. When we use it in a microdroplet technique it is not so much the volume of the silicone that creates the building of the face, but a combination of the silicone droplets and the collagen that is created by the cells called fibroblasts in response to the silicone. The nasolabial folds are an area of the face that is in perpetual movement, with eating, smiling, kissing, etc. As it takes time (1-2 months) for the collagen to be created and surround the injected silicone droplets, it is very possible that in many cases the silicone droplets will be pressed into the lateral edge of the nasolabial fold. As a result, one can then get a permanent volume elevation where it wasn't intended. It is much preferable to use a temporary but relatively long lasting filler for this area, such as the Restylane, Juvederm or Radiesse.
