Are Injectable Fillers Under The Eyes A Good And Safe Treatment?

Q: I live in  New Jersey and loved reading your advice articles on injectable fillers. I am a 42 year-old female with dark circles under my eyes with hollowing, upper lip wrinkles, and horizontal forehead ceases. I would love to know if you could recommend a skilled Dr in my area who could do my eyes? Thank you for your time.

A: Injectable fillers can be used to create a variety of instantaneous facial effects by adding volume under the skin. While once limited only to lessening the depth of the nasolabial folds or increasing the size of one’s lips, their uses are being expanded. One of these newer areas is around the eyes, specifically for hollowing of the lower eyelids or treatment of the tear trough depression. This lack of volume can be one of the contributing factors to the appearance of dark circles under the eyes. Suborbital injection filling is one of the more technique sensitive (trickier) areas to inject well however. There is definitely much greater risk of bruising due to the many blood vessels in this area. Missing all of them can not always be predicted. Proper placement of the filler in the deeper tissue level down to the bone is important to not only get the best fill but to avoid lumps of the material if injected just under the skin. For those physician injectors that regularly perform blepharoplasty (eyelid) surgery, they will more likely feel comfortable placing the injectable filler into the proper tissue level. They will also be in better position to judge whether an injectable filler is the best treatment option and how it might compare to other methods of treatment such as fat grafting.

Dr. Barry Eppley