When did you EVER think that there would be an advantage to being dull? That time is now. The latest technique of filler injection gives a volumizing effect to the face, hands or neck. If less pain, bruising, and time spent in the doctor’s office appeal to you – read on!
Injectable fillers have become popular cosmetic procedures with more than one million injections performed annually. These augmentations are usually performed with hypodermic needles. Numerous adversities may be associated with needles, including pain, bruising, and vessel laceration, not to mention the fear a sharp needle causes in some patients. Using a longer blunt cannula has a number of advantages for both the injector and the patient. There is less pain, less bruising, and the injector can freely plump the area with multiple passes without the fear of unfavorable events. Using the blunt cannula allows the blood vessels to be “pushed aside” as the cannula travels through the tissue under the skin instead of piercing blood vessels as is done with traditional needles.
The potential advantages of the blunt cannula over the traditional hypodermic needle are the atraumatic injection and the ability to inject an entire lip, nasolabial fold, cheek, forehead or hand using a single or double puncture site—truly decreasing the number of injection sites. With this microcannula or dull cannula, the fanning technique is used on folds, cheeks, and lower lids. It allows for smoother contouring in areas such as the jawline, cheeks, chin, tear troughs, brows—any of the areas requiring deeper injections for sculpting, contouring and “lifting”.
This innovative technique used for dermal fillers is rapidly expanding, reaching great popularity among physicians during the past 2 years. The benefits of these cannulas over the traditional hypodermic needles are reduced downtime, trauma and bruising, and minimal insertion points. The many benefits of this technique actually encourage patients to explore fillers because the fears once prohibiting them from entertaining the idea have now disappeared. Patients who do try this new technique swear they will never go back to the once traditional method of sharp needle injections.
One of the biggest concerns patients have with dermal filler treatments is the degree and visibility of side-effects, and the extent they will have on impacting social events. When patients were asked to grade the degree of pain and or discomfort in a study, most patients reported no pain or discomfort during the procedure. Most often, patients are appreciative of the advantages of this increasingly popular method of minimal, if any, bruising, and no pain. So, let’s hear three cheers for being DULL!!!