Interview
We asked Dr. Ramamurthy to talk to us about his work in aesthetic medicine and to give us the latest trends in the use of fillers in the International Institute of Aesthetic Medicine (IIAM) in Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA, which he directs and where he trains the new generation of doctors in Aesthetic Medicine.
Dr. Ramamurthy obtained his MBBS from Manipal University, India in 1995 and has been practicing Aesthetic Medicine since 2000. He continued his education in Dermatology in Cardiff, Wales. He then obtained several fellowships in laser surgery during his early career. He was later appointed senior lecturer and department head and associate professor of aesthetic medicine in a medical university in Malaysia.
He is now a practising and teaching professor of aesthetic medicine at the International Institute of Aesthetic Medicine in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He has been teaching student doctors at IIAM since 2009. The medical team’s vision is to train doctors to become knowledgeable, skilled and confident practitioners on evidence-based aesthetic medicine. Dr Ramamurthy has published several papers pertaining to subdermal filler management, as well as filler-related complications. He also belongs to the editorial board of several field publications.
How Dr. Ramamurthy sees ALGENESS subdermal injectable Fillers
Q1: How did you discover ALGENESS?
I became acquainted with the ALGENESS product range through Malaysia’s local ALGENESS distributor in Kuala Lumpur, in 2017. I subsequently attended the ALGENESS training sessions in order to obtain certification and be able to use the products. I am satisfied with the quality of the products and I inject them regularly. Thanks to the many benefits of ALGENESS, I have fast become a regular user of ALGENESS products in my practice.
Q2: What are, in your opinion, the main strongpoints of ALGENESS?
From a practitioner’s point of view, I really like the texture and consistency of the filler. I also like the flexibility it provides because the products have a full range of concentrations and viscosities, which are available for different parts of the face. Lastly, during injection, the pressure that needs to be exerted on the syringe is low, which allows the process to be gentle and therefore the injection is optimal.
From a safety point of view, I like the fact that the syringes come in sterilized packaging, contrary to some other fillers. It can be easily diluted or dissolved - in other words, the filler is easily reversible if needed, which is very important. The filler is “liquid-like”, which enables the practitioner to aspirate it in case a blood vessel is accidently punctured.
My patients are all extremely satisfied with the natural and even volumizing effect of ALGENESS products. They are also very happy with the augmentation effects which the filler was intended for and with the fact that, once injected, it does not appear lumpy or overfilled. The feedback I get from many of my patients is that it their skin looks rejuvenated within just a few weeks of getting the injection.
Another advantage that ALGENESS has over other fillers is that it is very flexible to use. Since the filler is dispensed simultaneously by two syringes, the physician has the option to withdraw and use a very specific amount that is needed for that patient.
Q3. Why have you decided to use ALGENESS products over Hyaluronic Acid (HA) products? How much do you use one or the other?
Depending on the needs, I still use some amount of HA in my practice. The ratio is probably 70% of ALGENESS fillers versus about 30% of HA-based fillers. Again, my preference goes to ALGENESS rather than HA for the reasons I mentioned earlier:
It is easy to remove (dilute or dissolve) the filler if needed.
It is easy to inject.
It is possible to use a very precise amount.
Lastly, ALGENESS has an excellent safety record and gives natural-looking results.
My patient’s feedback has been very positive.
Q4. What are the main benefits of using ALGENESS products in your opinion?
I use ALGENESS for all midface augmentation, nasolabial and marionette corrections, as well as temple augmentation. In other words, whenever I need a good facial volumizer with a well-balanced and well-contoured result, I choose ALGENESS.
In my opinion, filler reversibility is crucial, and the ease with which it can be reversed is equally important. ALGENESS is a filler that gives the practitioner the best of both worlds – it gives tangible, consistent results as well as being safe to use.
ALGENESS is a hydrocolloidal filler which allows it to be “liquid-like”. For example - and forgive me for being a bit technical here - when injecting a 23mg concentration of HA filler, which can be compared to a 2.5% concentration of ALGENESS filler, there is a rare chance that an accidental intravascular puncture can occur. If this happens, the practitioner may not be able to obtain a backflow with the HA-based filler because of its thick viscosity, but they can get a backflow with ALGENESS when using aspiration; There is video evidence of this difference available.