The FDA recently approved the filler Juvederm (hyaluronic acid) for use in the United States. Juvederm, which has been available in Canada for several years, is similar to Restylane, which was FDA-approved in the U.S. a few years ago. Restylane is made by Medicis and Juvederm is now made by Allergan, the makers of Botox, after Allergan bought out Inamed Corporation earlier this year.
Juvederm is used for the correction of facial wrinkles and folds and there are three formulations of Juvederm available, Juvederm 24HV, Juvederm 30HV and Juvederm 30. Each formulation is designed to correct different types of facial folds and wrinkles. At this point in time, there is only one Restylane formulation that is FDA-approved. However, other Restylane formulations such as Perlane and Restylane Fine-Lines are expected to be approved by the FDA shortly.
The obvious question: which product is superior? At this point, Restylane certainly has the longest track record of the two and Restylane has become the soft tissue filler of choice in the U.S. However, there is some anecdotal evidence that Juvederm may result in slightly less swelling than Restylane, but this has yet to be demonstrated in controlled studies.
For now, Juvederm is another filler to add to our armamentarium and the choice of three different formulations is a definite plus, at least until Restylane adds their other two formulations to the marketplace.
