Ten-year experience using injectable silicone oil for soft tissue augmentation in the Philippines

BACKGROUND. No ideal, permanent filler is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Repeated injections of new temporary fillers make this cosmetic procedure expensive. OBJECTIVE. To show that silicone oil is effective, safe, economical, and permanent. MATERIALS AND METHOD. The age, sex, number, indications, sites, adverse reactions, total amounts injected, and clinical cosmetic results of 206 cases were tallied. RESULTS. Females (82%) outnumbered males (18%). The majority were in the 21- to 30-year age group. Fifty-five percent had acne scars, 42% nasolabial grooves, 13.5% marionette lines, 12.6% glabellar lines, 9.8% postvaricella scars, 9.3% inframalar depressions, 1.8% post-traumatic scars, 1.4% lipodystrophy, 1% lip augmentation, 0.9% sleep lines, and 0.4% contour defect. Fifty-one percent had <= 0.5 cc, 22% 1 cc, 7% : 1.5 cc, 7% : 2 cc, and 12% > 2 cc. Clinical improvement was graded excellent (76-100%), good (50-75%), fair (26-50%), and poor (< 25%). Seventy-two percent had excellent results, 18% good, 2% fair, and 0.5% poor. Seven percent were lost to follow-up. Two percent (n = 5) had transient erythematous papules lasting 2 to 6 weeks, with the exception of two patients. CONCLUSION. Silicone oil injected with the correct indications and techniques and with microdroplet injections is a safe, economical, and permanent dermal and subcutaneous filler. Rare permanent erythematous papules and transient ecchymoses appear on deep dermal injections.