This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (3)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Kevin M. Robertson, MD; Wallace K. Dyer II, MD

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1999;125:456-461.

Objective  To evaluate the safety and efficacy of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) (Gore-Tex; W. L. Gore & Associates, Flagstaff, Ariz) for augmentation of deep nasolabial creases.

Design  Retrospective chart review with a minimum of 12 months of follow-up.

Setting  Private practice ambulatory surgery center.

Study Population  One hundred consecutive patients (average age, 49 years) undergoing expanded PTFE augmentation of the nasolabial crease.

Main Outcome Measures  A standardized, reproducible rating scale assessed preoperative crease severity. Clinical effectiveness was determined by the numerical degree of improvement in crease severity rating after surgery, and by the number of procedures required to achieve the desired aesthetic results.

Results  Patients initially had grade 1 (14.5%), grade 2 (54.0%), grade 3 (20.0%), or grade 4 (11.5%) crease severity ratings. On average, patients with grade 1 creases required 1.17 total augmentation procedures, those with grade 2 required 1.60, those with grade 3 required 1.93, and those with grade 4 required 1.86. On average, with each augmentation, patients with grade 1 improved 0.61 relative severity points; those with grade 2, 0.85; those with grade 3, 1.29; and those with grade 4, 1.28. Nine patients developed late postoperative sequelae. Four creases (2.0%) displayed an unnatural mounded appearance because of superficial expanded PTFE placement. All 4 creases underwent elective removal of a single superficial PTFE strip, with resultant return of aesthetically correct crease augmentation. Five creases (2.5%) developed implant site infections; in all 5 cases, the involved strips were removed and the infection was resolved with a 10-day course of oral antibiotics.

Conclusions  Expanded PTFE augmentation presents a safe, effective method for softening deep nasolabial creases. Patients with more severe creases are likely to show more improvement with each augmentation, but are also more likely to require multiple procedures to achieve the desired aesthetic result.

From the Division of Otolaryngology, University of Wisconsin, Madison (Dr Robertson). Dr Dyer is in private practice in Atlanta, Ga.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

20-Year Experience With the Conrad Modification of the Freer Elevator as a Pull-in Suture Introducer
Torgerson and Conrad
Arch Facial Plast Surg 2009;11:267-269.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Applications of GORE-TEX Implants in Rhinoplasty Reexamined After 17 Years
Conrad et al.
Arch Facial Plast Surg 2008;10:224-231.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Patient Satisfaction With Expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene (Softform) Implants to the Perioral Region
Wall et al.
Arch Facial Plast Surg 2003;5:320-324.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT