Can I Get Silicone Facial Injections After Cheek Implants?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I want to thank you again for the cheek augmentation and the revisional cheek surgery you have performed for me. I have learned a lot from these past operations, and currently I’m interested in treatments of Alcon Silikon 1000 injections. The area treated will be no more than 1cm high and 1cm across. I’m thinking of around 1mL to 2 mL volume on both cheeks spanning across multiple treatments. 

A: Good to hear from you and thanks for the followup on your cheek augmentation surgery. Supplementing the current result you have can be done by a variety of injectable treatments and would be a logical approach to finalize your result. Since you have specifically mentioned Silikon 10000, I will address my comments to that type of inject actable material. Silikon 1000, also known as medical grade silicone oil, is unique from other injectable fillers in many ways. What attracts patients to its use is its permanency, of which no other injectable fillers have 100% volume retention.

It is very different from all other injectable fillers, however, in three specific ways. First, it is not FDA approved as a soft tissue filler material and will never be. While it is used for injectable facial soft tissue augmentation it is done so with the understanding that its use is off-label. Secondly, unlike other injectable fillers where the desired result is created instantly and with one treatment, the injection of silicone oil is done in small quantities as micro droplets. This is placed this way to both prevent an inflammatory reaction to the material, which can occur if too much is placed at once, and to allow it to work by allowing the body to build up scar tissue around the silicone droplets. Thus with a silicone injection treatment you will see initially see no change, the result takes weeks to begin to see the augmentation and a full result is not seen until 6 to 8 weeks after injection. Also, it is likely it would take more than injection session to see the maximum result. This is the safe way to inject silicone because…. Third, the material can not be removed once placed. As a result if there is an over correction or a contour irregularity, it is very difficult if not impossible to change it.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana