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Some aestheticians argue that blunt tip aesthetic cannulas offer far greater value than a traditional needle for dermal filler injections. Instead of cutting through vessels and tissues like a standard hypodermic needle, cannulas slide through the subcutaneous layer with a blunt tip, thereby causing less damage and providing improved maneuverability. This directly translates to quicker filler injections with less patient pain.
Marina Landau, a Dermatologist from Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, Israel, found that:
As long as the cannula glides softly in the subdermal or sub periosteal plane, the procedure is atraumatic. Nevertheless, almost always points of resistance will be met in the tissue. To ease the gliding, some cannulas have a special coating layer (e.g. STERiGLIDE™, TSK Laboratory). By wiggling the cannula during its movement through the tissues, resistance points can be easily overcome.
Choosing the right cannula for dermal filler is key to achieving the best aesthetic results. With many different cannula brands on the market boasting different features, how do you determine which cannula is the right choice for you? Read on to learn more about the STERiGLIDE™ cannula and how it stacks up to five competing brands.
STERiGLIDE™ is the cannula of choice for many industry-leading key opinion leaders. The concept behind STERiGLIDE™’s creation was to take the traditional aesthetic cannula and improve upon every aspect of it with the goal of creating the “perfect” injection. These innovations have led to it being described as the next generation of cannula. Its patented design, dome-shaped tip, and proprietary surface coating provide for better gliding during an injection. This dramatically lessens the required penetration force while reducing the risk of bruising.
It also offers the nearest tip to filler delivery, which means more accurate filler placement and reduced product loss compared to other options. Because practitioners can feel and see the end of the cannula tip through the clear side-port marking, it enables far greater manual control. The port itself on the STERiGLIDE™ cannula is beveled to help prevent any sort of snagging or resistance when maneuvering through the anatomy.
TSK, the manufacturer of STERiGLIDE™, went to great lengths to establish the right amount of flexibility to control the cannula. STERiGLIDE™ cannulas tend to be more stiff than most other options available, which also helps with providing precision placement. They are designed with ultra-thin wall technology to decrease the necessary extrusion force. In addition, the proprietary coating helps prevent sticking and provides a smoother entry to the filler injection site.
Most “first generation” cannulas are a derivative of dental cannula - manufactured with a rounded tip which makes the cannula traveling less smooth. Any fibrotic tissue will resist and block a standard cannula’s progress with a subsequent need of a path change. To resolve this issue, STERiGLIDE™ cannulas have a uniquely designed tapered tip, composing a hybrid between a completely blunt to sharp ending. The unique tip design leads to easier introduction and navigation through the anatomy.
TSK also provides a sharp “pilot” needle for each cannula in the set for convenience. This needle is slightly bigger than the cannula to ease the introduction step.
All of these unique features have separated STERiGLIDE™ as a standout from other cannulas available on the market.
Softfil® has cannulas in 23 different sizes, ranging from 14G for fat transfer to 30G for fine lip lines. They claim a bigger lumen for better flow than several other cannulas, and that can minimize the risk of vascular complications and embolization while preventing superficial blood effusion.
The cannulas have graduation marks on the exterior tube for symmetrical injections, a hub locator for orientation of the injection flow, and a curiously interesting “EASY GUIDE”—an orange plastic winged guide that assists in making the entry hole while easing the initial cannula insertion.
They utilize siliconized stainless steel tubes for greater comfort. This surface treatment ensures a gliding action that can reduce patient discomfort while improving the handling of the microcannula.
DermaSculpt™ calls its product the “Original Microcannula.” It is marketed by COSMO FRANCE, and like the STERiGLIDE™ and Softfil® microcannulas, it is sold with 20 cannulas in each box. Available sizes range from 30G x 1” (25mm) to 16G x 4” (100mm).
DermaSculpt™ boasts a compact package design and a paper pouch for single-gesture opening, thereby allowing the technician to open the package and mount the cannula onto a syringe in one gesture.
Hub markings offer extra precision and control, while the blunt tip provides a more even spread of the product through the area of injection. This can also reduce the risk of ecchymosis and leads to less patient downtime.
The TSK CSH Cannulas combine the traditional cannula shape with Ultra Thin Wall technology - providing an enlarged inner diameter barrel. As a result, they claim that this helps improve flow rate. The CSH (Closed-tip Side Hole) cannula features a laser cut side hole to help prevent any chances of bleeding. The blunt closed-tip design offers easier handling and reduced risk of bruising, swelling, or bleeding for the patient. CSH cannulas are a fantastic option for injectors who prefer a cannula that offers more flexibility. These cannula are comparable to DermaSculpt.
Although the CSH cannula performance is lower than that of the STERiGLIDE™ cannula, it is still a quality cannula manufactured to TSK's high standards. It is available at a lower price point and still competes well with other cannulas available on the market due to its ultra thin wall and smooth administration. CSH cannulas sell in boxes of 25, offering more per box than most others on the market.
The Aesthetic Group (France) manufactures these extra-thin wall cannulas that provide an ideal balance of flexibility versus stiffness. They’re made out of high-grade, medical quality stainless steel and mounted on a polycarbonate ergonomic luer locking hub. An easily identifiable marking on the cannula lets the clinician quickly identify where they are injecting.
Dispoderm® cannulas have the widest range on the market with over 26 different models with sizes ranging from 18G to 30G in several lengths from 25mm to 110mm. Air-Tite carries the 18G cannula in three different lengths: 70mm, 90mm, 110mm. These are packaged with 20 cannulas per box.
The Magic Needle®, by Dr. Bernard Hertzog, is another popular cannula on the market. The rounded tip helps reduce the associated risks of intravascular injection. The flexibility allows it to be used for a large number of fillers, regardless of their viscosity.
Due to the rounded tip of the cannula, it gives the injector far greater control over the straight-line trajectory they must follow with a traditional needle. The result is a quicker procedure with the potential for less patient pain and associated complications.
The Magic Needle® cannula has a luer locking hub for better attachment with an indicator on the hub to show the orientation of the port for homogenous application of the filler. It has superior manufacturing quality due to new techniques for controlling granularity and an innovative surface treatment.
While many of the cannulas on the market have similar designs, some contain more unique features that can prove to benefit both the injector and the patient. STERiGLIDE™ cannulas in particular were manufactured specifically for aesthetic procedures, and can lead to having a more pleasant injection experience and a much happier patient.
View the TSK STERiGLIDE™ Cannula