Collagen fillers discontinued – no more Zyplast & Zyderm

While it seems hard to imagine today, back before the early 1980’s, plastic surgeons didn’t really have any reliable injectable products to use for wrinkle correction or lip enhancement. When Zyplast and Zyderm arrived in the early 80’s, a new generation of of non-surgical corrections via injectable fillers became possible. These bovine-collagen fillers weren’t by any means perfect – they required skin testing, had a potential for allergic reactions, and didn’t last all that long. Still, they caught on like wildfire, and were used by millions worldwide with reasonable results most of the time.

Today, we hardly use Zyplast, Zyderm, Cosmoplast and Cosmoderm anymore. They have long been replaced by better products, like Juvederm and Restylane. The newer HA gel products are easier to use, are available in a variety of consistencies and formulations, don’t need skin testing, have a far smaller risk of allergic reactions, and can be “erased”, if need be, by an injection of hyaluronidase. It’s a big improvement.

Earlier this year, Allergan announced that the old generation of collagen fillers would no longer be distributed at the end of 2010, due to lack of demand. (Allergan actually stopped production of the products in 2009, but had enough inventory in stock to meet the projected demand for another year.)

Should you be worried? No. In addition to Restylane, Perlane, Juvederm, Juvederm Plus, Prevelle Silk, Radiesse, Selphyl, Sculptra and others, new filler agents like Belotero are just around the corner. You’ll still have plenty of excellent choices. Technology has advanced, and we have considerably better choices now.