Confused About Artefill - Permanent or Not?

Artefill's particles do not get degraded by the body so they will always be there after you put them in.  You may require more though as your face ages and more volume is lost.  The reason the company says "5 years" is because that is the length of the studies that were used for FDA approval so that is all they can legally claim.  In reality, it is permanent.

The collagen matrix that is the carrier gel for the Artefill particles dissolves in 2-3 months and the initially swelling disappears in 1-4 weeks.  Your own body will build natural collagen around the Artefill particles over the first 3 months so there may be a bit of lag time between the 2nd and 3rd month where the results might not look as good.

Because this is a permanent/long lasting product, a smart physician will undercorrect the first time and touch up on a future visit, it is much safer than possibly overcorrecting and having the results look unnatural.

Artefill has polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) as one of its ingredients (the other is collagen), which is not broken down by the body and will permanently remain in the body.  The more important question is the following: Is the result of Artefill permanent? NO.  The reason for this is that aging is dynamic. In the words of Dr. Gaylon McCullough, "Life is a conveyor belt".  We, as Facial Plastic Surgeons can set you further back on that conveyor belt, but we cannot stop it.  Therefore, even if you obtain full correction with Artefill (several injection sessions) for a period of 2-3 years with Artefill in the nasolabial folds, you will most likely require more filler due to the involution/deflation that naturally occurs with aging.  My general preference for longer lasting filler in the NL folds is Radiesse. 

Artefill is permanent. The particles of PMMA do not degrade, resorb, dissolve or migrate. Period. While it's true that the cow collagen that the PMMA particles are suspended in does get resorbed, the patient's own collagen will encapsulate each particle (just as it would with any implant), thus replacing the volume of lost cow collagen in about a 1:1 ratio.

Of course, facial folds that have been treated with Artefill will still age normally, so in 5 to 10 years some *additional* Artefill may have to be added to compensate for the additional aging that has occurred. This is unlike other fillers which require *replacement* PLUS additional product. Perhaps this is where some people are confused about how long Artefill lasts.

I, too, fully endorse the recommendation that it be injected over TWO sessions, rather than just one session, to avoid any chance of over-correction...since, as I said, it's permanent.

 

All the best,

--DCP