Bioalcamid at Clinica Estetica in TJ- someone's experience

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My comment: I think BioAlcamid is a great product. This is not the first time I hear about someone who got too much product injected. I think that being conservative and having smaller amounts injected in separate trips is a cautious way to approach any filler (except Sculptra).

Thanks to Jim for sharing his experience. I will post the pictures in the file section since they are too large for yahoo to accept as an attachment.

Has anyone have a good experience with any filler for the temple (forehead) area. I have not met anyone who has. It is interesting that the Zerit/AZT to Viread switch studies found an increase in cheek fat but a continuing decrease in forehead fat even after a few months off Zerit or AZT.

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Hi

I'm e-mailing my photos of my experience with facial restoration with Bioalcamid at

Clinica Estetica in TJ, Mexico. I think they're clearly labeled. Please feel free to post them to the web sight or use them in talks if you care to. I can also mail the CD and/or the original photos to the address you sent me if that would be helpful.

I know everyone's experience with this product is different. I do have a few reservations about

Bioalcamid that I don't think have been discussed on this forum before - they were a surprise to me and it may be helpful to others to be aware of these cautions.

1- I went from a moderate deficit of tissue in the cheek areas before treatment to a very excessive bulge of tissue shaped like parentheses on either side of my nose and mouth. This is visible in the photos to some extent but more obvious in person. I have since returned twice to have the Bioalcamid removed in these areas. It is better but they can't quite seem to get anymore out. Worse than the cosmetic issue of the raised area was how this excess bulk limited my ability to smile. My grin went from ear to ear before treatment to a lame attempt at a smile after treatment. I could actually feel the pressure in my cheeks when I tried to smile - it was very frustrating.

2- The temples were very difficult areas to see results in. On each visit I was assured that they were successfully treated, but when I returned for the next visit it was obvious that there hadn't been much if any progress and they were treated again. In fact they were injected with lots of Bioalcamid on all 3 visits to little avail. used what she called the 'lip formula' of Bioalcamid in the temple area rather than the 'body form' which she used in the other areas of the face. Maybe this had something to do with the lack of results in the temple.

3- An unauthorized "temporary" filler was injected under the eyes. told me that the product was brand new and that it was temporary AFTER it was injected. I would never have authorized a product that was brand new or temporary. Now while Bioalcamid is injected beneath the epidermis, this temporary product is actually injected into the skin (intradermal) she told me. The product is less temporary than I could have hoped for and now some 4 years later it is still there in the skin and it has left that area of the skin quite thin, fragile and senile looking. On one of my return visits for removal Ellen looked in my chart and let me know the name of the "temporary" filler but I don't remember it's name off hand. Be aware that informed consent may not always be what it should be.

4- Lastly you should know that only a very limited number of physicians in the US will be willing to treat you with silicone by the microinjection technique if you already have Bioalcamid in your face. I suspect that the medico-legal issues complicate the case too much for them. As far as I am aware, Dr. Orentreich in NYC is the only one willing to do so. Dr. in LA will not. I'm quite pleased with the improvement I've seen in the 2 years and 4 treatments I've had with Dr. Orentreich. I feel that for mild and moderate facial lipoatrophy silicone represents a great better choice than Bioalcamid

5- The staff at Clinica Estetica is quite charming and very personable and friendly. I like them. For me however the experience was a disappointment. I am so glad that others have had much better experiences there. I just feel that everyone should be aware of these possible issues.

Best Regards, JIM

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