Blog Question –
What are the benefits of cannulas for facial fillers and why do so few doctors use them?
Blog Answer
Cannulas are a real technical advance in filler injections.
I always use them except in those rare areas where a needle is necessary.
However, there are reasons other doctors avoid cannulas. Let me explain.
Since 1980 when fillers were first used, most injections have been done with needles.
Needle injections almost always cause mild bruising – severe bruising lasting weeks is not rare.
Things began to change about 5 years ago when the use of cannulas for filler injections was reported.
What are cannulas? They are blunt, not sharp. Facial injections require specialized cannulas. They are long and thin like needles but flexible and strong. The filler comes out an opening on the undersurface, not at the tip like a needle
The first cannulas came from Japan – and were very expensive.
Now excellent cannulas are made in the US and sold at a reasonable cost. What makes using cannulas better?
1. Safety, safety , safety:
-Needles can inadvertently inject filler into a small artery or vein. Filler in a blood vessel can kill overlying skin, causing permanent scarring – even worse and fortunately rare, filler injected into a blood vessel can travel to the eye and cause blindness.
-Cannulas, being blunt, don’t easily pierce blood vessels – instead the blood vessel blocks the cannula which is then re-directed.
-In addition, filler does not come out the tip of a cannula making it very unlikely that filler would be injected into a vein, even if the cannula pierced it. So the risk of serious complications caused by filler injection is greatly reduced.
2. Bruising: Since cannulas don’t pierce blood vessels like a needle, bruising is rare and mild.
Why don’t all doctors use cannulas?
Because it takes time to learn how to use them and needle injections are faster.
It takes only 15 minutes to inject filler with a needle. It can take twice that time with a cannula.
So a plastic surgeon won’t use a cannula unless s/he is willing to set aside more time to do filler injections. For me and for my patients, the extra time is much less important that the greater safety and much less bruising which cannulas provide. So, if you want filler injected by cannula, just call us!