FDA approves new injectable gel for cheek augmentation

As we age, the effects of time and gravity can be written all over our faces. Once full cheeks can droop, and with that, so can self-confidence. Now a first of its kind FDA-approved injectable gel is filling out cheeks and restoring a younger appearance.

At 44 years old, Mandy Craft has tried make-up and cosmetic tricks to reverse the signs of aging, but around her cheeks, she just could not get good results.

"With time and age, I've had a lot of loss of volume in my cheeks and my mouth area," she said.

Mandy made an appointment with Dr. Mark Crawford, medical director of The Aesthetic Center in Lake Charles, who says the cheeks are one of the most neglected areas of the face when it comes to turning back the clock. "People would go straight to eyelid surgeries, which needs to be done quite often, or they'd go straight to facelifts, but this area was often neglected," he said.

For those who were wanting to lift the cheek pads, implants were a common option until the 2013 FDA approval of an injectable gel for cheek augmentation called Juvederm Voluma. "It's more natural. They're very safe; they're reversible if need be," said Dr. Crawford. "That doesn't happen very often, but if you have something you're not happy with, you can dissolve it."

The primary ingredient in the gel is hyaluronic acid, a naturally-occurring hydrating substance found in your skin. It can be used at different thicknesses. "Some of them take a real thin filler, some take a little thicker filler, and some take a really thick filler, depending on where you're going to use it," said Dr. Crawford.

Mandy wanted to see fullness added from her undereye to cheeks and folds near the mouth.  "Looking at her before pictures," said Dr. Crawford, "the cheek pad has fallen down, and it kind of leaves a little bit of a sunken area down here, and it leaves these nasolabial folds here."

Injections were given in Mandy's cheek pads and nasolabial folds during a 30-minute procedure. Numbing cream and ice was used to minimize any pain. "There was very little discomfort," said Mandy, "nothing that Tylenol couldn't relieve."

Results are instant, and for Mandy, she saw undereye lines minimized, fuller cheeks and less noticeable lines around her smile. "I saw fullness," said Mandy, "what I was looking for."

Voluma injections last up to two years. The cost is variable, depending on how much product is needed. One tube costs around $900.

You can learn more about cosmetic injections at The Aesthetic Center's Holiday Botox and Beauty Celebration on Thursday, December 11 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. It is located inside The Eye Clinic on Oak Park Boulevard in Lake Charles. Click here to pre-register.