Ellansé Singapore —
Dosed For The Collagen, Not The Gel

Ellansé is made of polycaprolactone microspheres, roughly 25 to 50 micrometres across, suspended in a carboxymethylcellulose gel. By composition it is about 30% microspheres and 70% gel.

On the day, the gel gives immediate volume, so the treatment behaves like a filler. Over the following weeks the gel is absorbed, and fibroblasts lay down collagen around the microspheres left behind, which act as a scaffold. The microspheres themselves break down slowly, eventually to carbon dioxide and water. What lasts is the collagen your body built while they were there.

That sequence changes how it is dosed. The look on the day is not the final result, and the collagen that follows differs from it in shape and amount. Overfilling on day one tends to produce a heavier face months later, with no enzyme to reverse it. So the Ellansé dose is planned around the collagen it will build, not the gel you see in the mirror.

It comes in several formulations, which differ in how slowly the body resorbs the microspheres. It is CE-marked in Europe and is not FDA-approved in the United States. In Singapore, dermal fillers are regulated by the Health Sciences Authority as medical devices.

Ellansé is a structural material. It tends to suit:

• a chin that lacks projection, or a jaw that lacks definition, often planned together (see jawline filler);
• hollow temples and a flattened lateral cheek, where support is read before anything goes lower in the face;
• the backs of the hands, where tendons and veins have become prominent (see hand rejuvenation);
• someone who understands that the result cannot be dissolved and prefers a change that builds from their own collagen.

It does not suit the lips, the tear troughs or fine lines in thin, mobile skin, where firm particles can be felt or seen. It is not a first injectable for a face that has not been assessed, and it does not lift. Volume added below a descended jowl makes the jowl heavier; that problem is assessed for HIFU or the VF Lift – Vertical Facelift instead. Dr Sin Yong holds a Key Opinion Leader appointment with CLASSYS, which makes the Volnewmer platform used for the VF Lift.

1. A planning visit comes first. Dr SY reads the face as structure, the jaw from chin to angle and the temple and lateral cheek before the lower face, and asks about every earlier injectable with dates. Photographs are taken with your consent for your medical record only.
2. You receive a written plan naming the zones, the formulation and the amount, and time to consider it.
3. On the placing visit the skin is cleaned and marked, and a topical anaesthetic applied.
4. Ellansé goes in deep, in small deliberate deposits rather than a sheet, with the firmer formulation used sparingly. The first placement is deliberately conservative.
5. Skin colour over the treated areas is checked before you leave, and you receive written aftercare.
6. A follow-up visit is timed for when the gel has gone and collagen has started to form, the first point at which the real result can be judged. Any further placement is decided then.

Expect swelling, tenderness, possible bruising and a temporary firmness where the gel sits. The area may look slightly less full as the gel is absorbed over the following weeks; that is the gel going, not the treatment failing. Leave the area alone: no massage or pressing unless told to.

Phase-by-phase care is on Ellansé aftercare, and how you are likely to look day by day is on Ellansé downtime. No duration is promised: the microspheres are resorbed over time, and the collagen they prompted ages with the rest of your face.

Common: swelling, bruising, tenderness and temporary firmness, which settle on their own.

Specific to firm, non-dissolvable products: nodules, and product that can be felt or seen. Nodules are described with all collagen stimulators. A lump that grows, hardens, becomes red, hot or painful, even long after treatment, needs examination rather than massage. After imaging, inflammatory nodules are treated medically and other lumps are managed case by case; hyaluronidase has no effect on Ellansé or its gel. See dermal filler complications.

Rare and serious: a blocked blood vessel, which depends on depth, tissue plane and anatomy. Skin that turns white, dusky or mottled, or increasing pain, needs same-day assessment; any change in vision is an emergency, so call 995 or go to the nearest hospital emergency department. See vascular occlusion warning signs.