Male Voice: The blunt technique is actually not a needle. Looks like a needle, but it's not a needle because it's a cannula. It's actually blunt at the end. So, to start the procedure, I have to make an entry point on the skin. I do that with the sharp needle, one little entry point, and instead of 20 to 30 small sharp needle entry points, you have one sharp needle entry point. The chance of bruising is much less. So, somebody who has had actual volume replaced with the traditional technique that I've shown before and just wants a little touchup but doesn't want to risk a significant bruise, this works very nicely for them.

Now, I'm using Belotero. You can use Juvederm. You can use Restylane, but I prefer Belotero for this technique. I'm going to demonstrate it today. So, basically I've made two small puncture sites down here. In the traditional technique, I actually walk the needle down in the tear trough area and place it supraperiosteallly wherever I want to go.

For this technique, I have one entry point. You could have a second one. It's more like a fat injection. Those surgeons that are more familiar with fat injections . . . This technique will be secondary to them. Those doctors who are not used to the fat injection techniques . . . Basically, you have to understand that you've got one entry point, and you can fan the needle through different directions. Be very careful if you've not done this before. Be conservative. But there's essentially two or three manufacturers of the blunt cannulas out there, and what I use is my preference here with these various forms.

So, we're going to start on this side, and I've already made the small little entry point. With this technique, actually the toughest part of this whole technique is getting the needle into . . . through the skin, because it's blunt. It's not sharp. It takes a little pressure. Now, the patient feels the pressure, but it's not terribly painful or sharp. You can actually see my needle as I'm taking it up, and you can see its entry point. You can see it slide right up there. You can see I can go right up to the cantus [SP], and I can start filling. You see that area just fill up right up as I'm doing that. You can see the fullness. Great.

You can see it that quickly, how the tear troughs . . . If you look at both sides, you've got the depth here in this side. If you just keep looking straight, it's definitely fuller right in that area. Now, I'm going to go and do the other side, right on the lateral aspect. How do you feel?

Female Voice: I can't feel a thing.

Male Voice: Not a thing?

Female Voice: Not a thing.

Male Voice: How about the pressure of this part?

Female Voice: Nope.

Male Voice: Like I said, this is the part that just takes a little effort to get it in. Once you're in, it slides nicely. You can see my cannula tip right there. This is actually a tender area. I have patients grimace a little bit in that area. You can actually get up above that. I'll place a few drops of filler. It's all done with the same entry point. I don't need to go to several puncture sites.

You can see. Just compare. What I want you to do is compare right and left eye. Now, if you, the camera, pan back a little bit, you can see that better. You can see how this eye is nice and smooth and full. If you look at the other side, there's more of that darkness on this side. There's more of a tear trough. Now, the skin thinness needs to be covered with makeup, but you can see the fullness. If you move the camera up and down, you can really see that. If you actually hold it up there, it's one of the best positions to be able to see that. Compare the tear trough on this side, the depth right there, and the fullness that she's achieved. The eyes blend better with the cheeks. I'm going to continue working on this. It's going to get better and better.

Remember, the entry point is the toughest part. When this gets through, the rest goes in easily. You can see the needle right there. You can see my needle right there. Remember, we're doing these micro, micro droplets. It's a micro droplet technique, constantly moving. Same technique as fat injection. Open your eyes for me and look up for me. I'm just basically placing tiny little drops all throughout here, massaging it, moving it up, moving around.

Again, if this is something that you haven't done before, be conservative. Don't overfill. You can always do more, but don't assume just because there's [inaudible:00:05:03] days or high days or wide days, there's enzymes that you can just simply melt it away. That's not something that is advisable.

There's not a single bruise. That's the beauty of this technique, and I have . . . So, our patient is getting this done before a big event, and she could go to it this weekend with zero bruises. That's the beauty of it. The traditional technique, I would tell people you need at least a month of no major events, just in case you get any bruises. Open your eyes and look up…

Why Would a Doctor Use a Blunt Instead of a Sharp Tipped Needle?

In order to minimize bruising, a blunt tipped needle may be used. This technique, as Dr Shervin Naderi explains, significantly decreases the chance of bruising by utilizing a single entry point instead of 20-30 entry points.