HYDROGEL

The injectable, hydrogel implant provides long term solutions to your individual aesthetic goals.

After treatment it shows immediate results and, compared to temporary filling treatments, these results are much longer lasting, up to 5+ years. It is bio-compatible and non-allergenic and the high water content makes the treated area feel soft and look natural.

We are lucky enough to have extremely qualified staff at The Lotus Institute that preform this treatment to suitable clients.

For your FREE consultation for a long Lasting solution call our rooms to book in with Patricia on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.

07 5509 4488

 

AESTHETIC GOALS

We can help achieve your aesthetic goals by contouring the face, straightening your nose, or restoring lost volume to your face.

Volume is one of the secrets behind a beautiful face as volume beneath the skin is inevitably lost as the body ages, resulting in the effects we traditionally associate with ageing – such as wrinkles and folds. By replacing volume to the cheeks and temples a beautiful, more  youthful appearance can be re-established.

But it’s not just about anti-ageing. It can also be used to enhance the contours of your face in other ways. Create higher cheekbones, refine your jawline and chin, shape the nose to the way you desire.

It is extremely soft – so you can neither see nor feel it. You’ll just look and feel fresher and better – and no one needs to know why!

HOW IT WORKS

With time, the hydrogel feels and behaves like it is a natural part of your own body. It consists of 97.5 % water and 2.5% polyacrylamide and becomes completely integrated with your body’s own tissue. The volume it supplies remains in place beneath the skin.

The hydrogel does not contain any micro-particles, which means that the filling effect comes from the gel itself – not from a foreign body reaction to the micro-particles. This eliminates tissue hardening or fibrosis.

The volume injected is equivalent to the final result and enables your physician to achieve your result with precision. A slight swelling might occur after injection, but will disappear after a few days.

This watery gel, once injected into the tissue, continuously exchanges fluids between the hydrogel and the surrounding tissue. With time the gel becomes vascularised enabling access to the immune system.

 

PROVEN LASTING SATISFACTION

The hydrogel has a proven track record for safety and lasting satisfaction based on 16 years of experience and more than 400,000 treatments administered worldwide.

Allowing you to experience great results without surgery, the results you get are not only instant, they last as well. The hydrogel has clinically proven aesthetic satisfaction for years.

In a long-term clinical trial, physicians judged the aesthetic results at one, two, four and five years after as very good or good in more than 90% of the patients. Furthermore, more than 90% of the patients were either very satisfied or satisfied at the one, two, four and five year-follow-up.

 

HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM DERMAL FILLERS?

With HA and collagen fillers, wrinkle correction usually lasts for 3 months up to 12 months. But, as this doesn’t get absorbed by the body, the results last for many years without need for re-treatments.

Treatments providing results lasting more than 12 months are typically composed of small particles suspended in a carrier gel. Particles act as a tissue irritant, achieving the volume effect by chronic inflammation. This bears a risk of tissue hardening and firm nodule formation. With these particle fillers relying on the foreign body response full aesthetic effect is obtained months after the injection and can be unpredictable.

The hydrogel is totally homogeneous (no particles). It a “volume” implant as opposed to the “structural” fillers where the aesthetic result is obtained by intense foreign body reaction to the tissue irritant-microparticles. Hence it does not cause tissue hardening and firm nodule-granuloma formation.

The hydrogel is injected into the tissue layer right below the skin through a thin (27G), sterile needle. There is no need for allergy tests. Typically, the doctor uses a local anesthetic. The treatment normally takes about 30 minutes. The patient gets back to normal activities soon after the treatment.

 

HOW SOON DO RESULTS APPEAR?

Results are immediate, predictable and natural looking. Since the product is homogenous and does not contain any particles, its filling effect relies exclusively on the added volume from the hydrogel itself. Thus the full effect is obtained immediately.

HOW LONG DO RESULTS LAST?

Clinical studies of the product have shown that the patients are satisfied with the aesthetic results many years after the injection without re-treatment. A clinical study conducted in six European countries show patient satisfaction levels above 90% after five years.

Continuous loss of facial tissue fat is part of the natural aging process. Therefore, it could be necessary to retreat in the years after the initial treatment. The actual durability of the treatment depends on the aging process of the individual patient.

WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL SIDE EFFECTS OR COMPLICATIONS?

Our injecting doctors have a very high level of training in the use of the product and in patient selection to minimise side effects or complications.

But as with all filler injections, there is a small risk of mild irritation, redness, tenderness or transient swelling at the injection site. Typically such reactions resolve within a couple of days.

In rare cases an infection can occur. The symptoms could be a tingling sensation in the treated area. If an infection is suspected, the injecting doctor should be contacted. The recommended treatment is with broad-spectra antibiotics (steroids or NSAIDs should never be used as those may seriously aggravate the condition by suppressing the body’s own defense mechanisms).

HOW SOON CAN I HAVE OTHER AESTHETIC PROCEDURES (E.G. LASER TREATMENT) FOLLOWING TREATMENT?

You should avoid laser, peeling, skin resurfacing, pigmentation or aesthetic treatments in the area injected for at least 6 months before and after injection.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I WANT TO GET A FACE-LIFT IN 5 YEARS?

As the hydrogel resembles the bodies own tissue and therefore follows the natural tissue if stretched. It does not prohibit any remodeling your plastic surgeon may suggest.

CAN THE HYDROGEL BE REMOVED?

Initially the hydrogel can be removed easily by aspiration through a minute puncture/incision. Over time it becomes integrated within the tissue and hence requires a procedure similar to liposuction. The hydrogel cannot be removed completely by any of the procedures, however the aesthetic experience can be altered if desired.

IS THE SAFETY OF THE HYDROGEL DOCUMENTED?

More than 10 clinical studies have been conducted in Europe, Australia, Asia, and Latin America. Many have been published in leading medical journals.

To date more than 400,000 injections have been performed world wide.