New procedure available at UAB fills in deep lines—permanently

What if you could permanently erase deep wrinkles with a few simple injections? ArteFill^®, now available at UAB, is designed to do just that. The treatment, recently approved by the FDA, is used primarily on the lower part of the face. ArteFill has been proven successful in filling in the nasal labial folds, or “smile lines” around the mouth and nose, as well as drooping corners of the mouth and bumps and irregularities on the nose. It is also very effective in filling out atrophic (depressed) scars.

ArteFill replaces collagen that the body loses due to aging. With the ArteFill procedure, microbeads and bovine collagen are injected. These substances actually stimulate your body to produce more collagen while acting as a scaffolding for the collagen to build around. Eventually, your body’s own collagen fills in the deep lines for a smooth appearance.

While most volumizers used to fill in wrinkles only last six months to a year before the body breaks them down, the results of ArteFill actually improve over time—even over a period of five years.

For the procedure, only topical anesthesia is required, and patients may experience minimal swelling and bruising over a couple of days. Patients are given a series of injections, then return in two months for touch up, with no further treatments needed. This procedure can only be performed by a few physicians in the U.S., due to the company’s strict standards. UAB is one of only two facilities in Alabama offering ArteFill.

For more information on this procedure available at The Kirklin Clinic® in the UAB Medical Center District, or to make an appointment, call UAB HealthFinder at (205) 934-9999 or 1-800-UAB-8816.