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Improving the Appearance Of Your Hands with Injectable Fillers

By Dr Barry Eppley

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Published: 28Aug2008
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Do your hands give away your age? In many people, the hands are just as revealing as our faces about our age. But our faces understandably get much more attention and the hands are often forgotten. (but not unseen by others) As we age, our hands (particularly women) loose that once plump fullness and youthful look. Aging hands become thinner with vein and joint exposure, loose creapy skin, and brown spots over the back of them. These changes occur from chronic sun exposure and extensive use. While hand creams are a good first line of defense, they are not enough to produce a dramatic rejuvenating effect.

Adding volume back into the hands through injectable fillers is a good way to lessen the prominence of the veins and give a more plump appearance. The question is....which injectable filler? In my experience, you have 4 options...three off-the-shelf and one operative (which is only done if you are in the operating room anyway for other procedures)

While all of the hyaluron-based injectable fillers (e.g., Restylane, Juvaderm) are extremely well tolerated, their effects are too short-term and do nothing to stimulate actual collagen tissue ingrowth so I prefer not to use them in the hands. The particulated fillers, such as Radiesse and Artefill, are better options as they last longer and may actually help stimulate favorable tissue ingrowth for longer-term results. Radiesse uses resorbable ceramic beads in its mixture so the effects are immediate but the beads are eventually resorbed over a year or so. It is also white in color although much of this is masked by the color of the skin. Artefill uses non-resorbable plastic beads in a collagen base which is much more likely to last longer and produce a better tissue-thickening result. Because both particulated fillers have a tendency for 'clumpiness' and irregularities, injection technique is critical and it is best to not inject too much at once. A few staged treatments (spaced 6 to 8 weeks apart) slowly adding volume, and doing daily massage over the injected areas is the best way to ensure a smooth-looking result. Sculptra is another off-the-shelf filler option that is really like injecting 'liquid plastic' rather than a bead or particulated approach. Its material is resorbable over time and you have to be really careful about adding too much volume at once as it can cause local tissue reactions. Which one of these off-the-shelf injection materials is better for the hands is not yet known....and none of them are FDA-approved as of yet for use in the hands.

Another injectable option, which has been around for a long time with a track history of use in the hands...is your own fat. This is certainly the injectable filler option with the least potential for any downside with the exception that it has not historically lasted. In the past, I have done some beautiful results with it as it fills the depressed areas between the rays (fingers) quite well creating a nice plump hand. Five to seven ccs of fat per hand (which is much more volume than one could afford with an off-the-shelf- filler) is about what each hand needs. But the long-term outcome was disappointing. Now with improved purification and concentration methods, and with the addition of PRP concentrate (extracted platelets from the patient), fat is more likely to have a better long-term result. For this reason, this is my preferred method when the patient is in the operating room anyway...particularly if they are already having a liposuction procedure.

Hand rejuvenation, sometimes referred to as a 'hand lift' (erroneous term but catchy nonetheless), is based on the concept of restoring volume. Whether it is from a synthetic injectable filler or your own fat, short-term results appear to be quite good. Whether they will stand the test of time and what complications may yet emerge is not yet known. But at this point in time, I will give it at least a temporary thumbs up with the other four fingers still in neutral position.

Dr Barry Eppley, board-certified plastic surgeon of Indianapolis, operates a private practice at Clarian North and West Medical Centers in suburban Indianapolis. He writes a daily blogs on topics and trends in plastic surgery at http://www.exploreplasticsurgery.com

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