Restylane With Lidocaine: Improving Patient Experience

Kimberly P. Cockerham, MD, FACS¹ Lynnelle K. Smith, MD²

¹Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, United States of America. ²Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California, United States of America

Purpose: In our fast-paced, aging society, idealized aesthetic procedures are safe, quick, effective, and painless. Hyaluronic acid (HA) dermal fillers in many ways meet this demand. Still, pain management during and after injection leaves room for improvement. We present a prospective, open-label trial of Restylane with pre-incorporated lidocaine to evaluate pain control and efficacy of treatment of 50 subjects.

Methods: We are recruiting healthy female and male subjects with history of previous HA filler treatment without lidocaine (e.g. Restylane, Perlane, or Juvederm). Any with prior autoimmune disease or sensitivity to lidocaine were excluded. Subjective patient questionnaires evaluate pain during and after injection compared to past experience. Efficacy and duration are documented by objective masked photograph evaluated by physician investigators.

Results: Six of 50 subjects are currently enrolled with 6 months post-injection follow-up. All report less pain with pre-incorporated lidocaine than experienced prior. Subjects and investigators observe comparable efficacy and duration of action. No post-injection granulomas have occurred.

Conclusions: The corrective effects of HA fillers are impermanent and repeated treatments are required to maintain results. The ideal filler should have 3 key qualities: safety, effectiveness, and cost efficiency. We suggest a four element should be considered, that it is aesthetic. A treatment geared towards the needs and demands of a cosmetic patient, with minimized discomfort and recovery, can add to a high level of patient satisfaction with result. HA filler injections with pre-incorporated lidocaine can help address this aim.