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As you age, your skin and its supporting structures including collagen and elastin (the elastic network) as well as
proteoglycans (protein-sugar "branches") lose their elasticity and their smooth appearance. Human Tissue Matrix Implants are a collagen implant that can help you restore
a more youthful appearance and enhance your looks by temporarily decreasing the appearance of facial imperfections such as wrinkles, creases, lines, acne scars and superficial
scars. Because HTM Implants are a human-derived product, it is biocompatible, significantly decreasing the chance of an allergic reaction. We hope that you find this
information helpful and encourage you to ask your physician any additional questions.
What is HTM Implants?
Dermalogen® is an injectable human tissue matrix (HTM) implant, procured from donor tissue, which has undergone a patented process. It is injected into facial contour defects.
What types of conditions Are HTM Implants best used for?
HTM Implants can be used for treating facial contour defects. The most common treatments involve:
- naso-labial folds (sides of the nose)
- peri-oral lines (above the lips)
- the vermilion ridge (top of the lip)
- glabellar frown lines (between the eyebrows)
- oral commissures (sides of the mouth)
- depressed scars (e.g., acne)
Are HTM Implant treatments a replacement for laser-skin resurfacing, chemical peels, or dermabrasion?
No, but it can be efficacious when used alone or in concert with these procedures for the treatment of facial contour
defects.
How many treatments are required?
Typically two to three treatments are required over a three-month period to correct most dermal depressions. Improvements
with HTM Implants are progressive. After the first treatment you may not see much change, but each additional treatment yields more improvements.
Are the treatments uncomfortable?
Your doctor will inject HTM Implants with a fine-gauge needle. Some patients have found these injections
uncomfortable and prefer some anesthetic. If this is the case in your situation, ask your physician about the use of local anesthetics.
What will I look like right after treatment?
Some patients find that their skin, at the injection sites, is red or blanched for about 48 hours after treatment. If you
have a history of bruising, a bruise may result which could take a few weeks to heal. Your physician will discuss other potential side effects with you during your consultation.
Where does the tissue come from?
Tissue comes from donors in much the same way donated organs do. Donor tissue is recovered by tissue banks, which follow
the federally mandated tissue recovery guidelines and those of the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB). Other applications for processed donor tissue include burn surgery,
periodental (gum) surgery, and bone implants. These number in the hundreds of thousands of implants per year.
Is donated tissue safe?
Tissue donors are very carefully screened and tested to reduce the risk of disease transmission. The tissue banks follow
federally mandated guidelines and those of the AATB. The only tissue processed into HTM Implants are tissue from donors who have passed all tests. In addition, when processing the
tissue, safeguards against viral transmission by treating the ite with powerful anti-viral agents.
How long have HTM Implants been used?
Since 1997, over 100,000 syringes of Dermalogen® have been shipped to physicians in the United States.
What is the difference between you HTM Implants and bovine (cow) collagen?
Our implants contains intact collagen fibrils, elastic network, and proteoglycans similar to your own skin. Bovine
collagen contains digested cow collagen in small segments.
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