A new product to 'plump' the faces of HIV positive people affected by facial wasting has been introduced to New Zealand by support network Body Positive Auckland. Aquamid is a reconstruction product that, for $3,500 - $4000, can plump and fill the faces of HIV+ patients who have experienced facial wasting as a result of lipoatrophy/lipodystrophy caused by anti-retroviral therapy for HIV. Facial wasting can leave positive people with a hollow or deeply lined face, but the new product can plump the face back up again. Body Positive flew over freelance cosmetic practitioner Alex Jarvis from Sydney to demonstrate the fine needle injection procedure and train local GPs Dr Alison Copeland and Dr Jane Wehipeihana along with Italian cosmetic surgeon Dr Piergiovanni Marzinotto. The Saturday clinic was held at the Kiwi Health Medical Centre in Auckland's K' Road and seven HIV+ people queued up to receive the innovative treatment. One patient said afterwards: “I feel really chuffed with the results, I did it for myself and I feel lots better already, the improvement in fullness was instant and it didn't hurt too much, I'm very pleased”. Some patients need more than one treatment to achieve good results, but all of the seven patients saw positive change. The next clinics for treatment will commence early in 2008.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Wednesday, 19th December 2007 - 3:55pm