A REVOLUTIONARY NEW DEVICE THAT PERFECTS FACIAL INJECTABLES A major change in the way anti-ageing ‘fillers’ are being administered means that the risk of bruising and swelling from facial injectables is becoming a thing of the past. As members of the British Association of Cosmetic Nurses learned at their Second Annual Conference that the manufacturers of several leading dermal fillers are proposing cannulas instead of needles for certain treatments. The benefits are numerous – including an easier injecting process that involves far fewer entry points and therefore less tissue trauma for patients. The outcome is a perfect result with no evidence of recent treatment. “The introduction of the cannula is truly a technical revolution for professional injectors using facial fillers,” remarked Emma Davies, Chair of the British Association of Cosmetic Nurses (BACN), who explained that by using a cannula, the injector can deliver product to a wide area of the face through a single perforation. The pix’L® flexible microcannula device from Q-Med, manufacturers of the Restylane® family of dermal fillers Cannulas are devices with elongated, fine flexible tubes. A needle is used to pierce the patient’s skin and is then replaced by a cannula which can be used to introduce tissue fillers to several sites – for example, the mid-face, cheeks and the naso-labial folds – without puncturing the skin again. Cannulas are especially useful for particularly sensitive areas of the face, such as around the eyes, and the lips. Because the skin is pierced far less when using a cannula, dermal tissue is less disturbed, there is virtually no discomfort for the patient and discoloration and oedema rarely occur. “Using cannulas instead of needles takes practice but the BACN is fortunate that several companies behind this innovation are willing to train members both during our Conference, and in workshops that will follow this event,” Emma Davies explained. The leading suppliers of facial fillers have identified the fact that 70% of injectable treatments in this country are given by nurses now working in the aesthetics field. In fact, nurses were the first medical professionals in the UK to work with Q-Med’s Restylane® – the first hyaluronic acid (HA) dermal filler to be introduced here, in 1996. Q-Med now produces an extensive ‘family’ of Restylane fillers for facial rejuvenation and has launched cannulas for use with several products: Restylane, Restylane Vital, Restylane Perlane and Restylane SubQ. At the BACN Conference, a member of Q-Med’s training team gave a workshop on the use and benefits of the company’s patented range of pix’L® microcannulas. Allergan, who manufacture the HA-based dermal filler Juvéderm®, sponsored several speakers at the BACN Conference – and highlighted the benefits of using a cannula. “Quite a few BACN members have already been working with cannulas for a while and the Conference proved inspiring for many others; so this method of treatment is going to be far more widely available in the coming months,” said Emma Davies. “Our members want their clients to walk out after treatment with no signs of trauma and no down-time, and cannulas are helping us to achieve that goal,” she added. “Cannulas also mean that patients can now have a ‘last minute’ session knowing they can go out that evening looking their best. With needle injections, we have to make allowances for swelling and bruising and recommend treatment a week ahead of a special event.”

Source: BACN