First what are blunt tipped cannulas for fillers?
Borrowed over from the world of liposuction and the world of Huber needles for chemotherapy. There are four benefits of using a cannula for filler (ie. Juvederm) injections:
- Tip is blunt, not sharp – so it won’t easily pierce unwanted delicate structures such as nerves and blood vessels
- Side exit port for the opening for extrusion of filler. This is on the side so that the tip can be blunt. So this reason goes along with the blunt tip reason.
- Flexible cannula. This allows for less injury as well, it has the potential to wiggle around obstructions which are sometimes cause by the vitals structures of nerves and vessels.
- Long length. this allows for fewer puncture sites.
Why do we care about blunt tipped cannulas?
In the end the results are for safety and less bruising. But are the effects better looking when the swelling goes down? for the most part I think so, for broad areas such as cheek and temples.
Picture is worth a thousand words
Perhaps a picture would help describe cannulas for injectable fillers:
blunt tip cannulas
Lip augmentation with cannulas?
Currently, for myself as an injector in Modesto, I’m a fan of cannulas for filling the central part (body) of the lips. But for precision, I feel that I lose a little bit of the precision needed when working on the border of the lips. Thus I still find myself gravitating to the regular needle. I have also used longer needles. So for now, there’s a role for both cannulas and needles in my practice for lips. But for the most part, I’m doing most of the lip augmentations with needles. I like the precision that I get with a short stiff needle. However, I understand that there is more of a risk of bruising and swelling right after the procedure. These are just my thoughts at my current level of comfort with cannulas. For more of what I think, visit: my thoughts on Lip Augmentation with fillers:
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