Injectable collagen for augmentation of facial areas.

We treated 87 patients with injectable collagen during a period of 2 1/2 years. Intradermal augmentations were found to be particularly valuable in frown grooves, the groove between the cheek and the lips and chin, the groove beneath the malar prominence, and the groove just lateral to the labial commissure, and for enhancement of malar pads or prominences. Less successfully treated were fine lines, postrhinoplastic depressions, and punched-out, depressed scars. The augmentations are less permanent, more painful, and more costly than those provided by subdermal injections of silicone, but injectable collagen is available generally for these purposes and injectable silicone is not. Problems of allergy also are drawbacks to the use of injectable collagen. Even with its disadvantages, however, injectable collagen is presently valuable in total care of aging faces and certain scarring.