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ArteFill® is a unique combination of homogeneous precision-filtered microspheres suspended in a solution of purified collagen gel and 0.3% lidocaine to alleviate discomfort during injection.

ArteFill is designed to correct facial wrinkles, the creases around the mouth known as the nasolabial folds.

ArteFill is comprised of a combination of precision-filtered microspheres and purified bovine collagen. All of the microspheres have a defined size of 30 to 50 microns in diameter and have a smooth, round surface. The microspheres make up 20% of the formula and the collagen is the other 80%.

Aesthetic results are visible immediately after injection. The microspheres cannot be attacked by scavenger cells (macrophages) or degraded by enzymes. Thus, the microspheres will remain intact beneath the creases, providing a permanent support structure to support the wrinkle and to prevent further wrinkling. As with all products using bovine collagen, a skin sensitivity test must be performed prior to use.

The approval of ArteFill, a new category of aesthetic injectable products for men and women, was announced today by the United States Food and Drug Administration. ArteFill is the first and only non-resorbable aesthetic injectable implant approved by the FDA. Unlike existing dermal fillers that are completely metabolized by the body, ArteFill is the first non-resorbable dermal filler providing a permanent support structure for enduring wrinkle correction.

Douglas Hamilton M.D. has used ArteFill in FDA clinical trials, at his Beverly Hills & Woodland Hills, California offices, to treat deep wrinkles, depressions under the eyes and depressed acne scars. Composed of PMMA (Polymethylmethacrylate), lidocaine, and bovine collagen, Artefill can eliminate unsightly lines and wrinkles, leaving the skin looking younger, radiant, and revitalized for many years. Effects look extremely natural.

There is immediate improvement as the area treated is raised to about normal skin level. Generally, there is virtually no discomfort at all at the time of the treatment, since it is mixed with an anesthetic. The procedure is typically done in 2 stages spaced 3 months apart.

Dr. Douglas Hamilton treated the first patient in the United States and has the largest series of treated patients in the nation. In 2000, Dr. Hamilton also published the first report in a medical journal, Cosmetic Dermatology, about the treatment of patients with this filler. He gave the first major addresses in 1999 & 2000 to the American Academy of Dermatology in New Orleans & San Francisco at national meetings. These meetings are the largest meetings of dermatologists in the world.

Dr. Hamilton is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Dermatology at UCLA School of Medicine.