Dermal filler is a term that we as aesthetic practitioners are immediately comfortable with as mainstays of our practices. In recent years, the public has become increasingly familiar with it too, as it has taken off among celebrities and on social media. But what led to the treatment’s formation and how do today’s products differ to their forebears?
Looking at the ‘origin story’ of dermal fillers takes us back to the vehicle that allowed such treatments to take place – the syringe. This implement was first invented in 1853 by two separate doctors for different indications.1 Scottish physician Alexander Wood used it to administer morphine in small doses to treat neuralgia, whilst French surgeon Charles Pravaz used it for intra-arterial injections when treating aneurysms.1
The first reported ‘cosmetic’ use of a foreign substance injected into the body was in Vienna in 1899, when Austrian plastic surgeon Robert Gersuny used liquid paraffin as a testicular prosthesis in…
