A Prospective Study on Safety, Complications and Satisfaction Analysis for Tear Trough Rejuvenation Using Hyaluronic Acid Dermal Fillers

BACKGROUND: Tear trough (TT) treatment with hyaluronic acid soft tissue fillers is an increasingly popular aesthetic procedure. The traditional needle technique is cited many times in the literature with no studies looking at the results, complications and satisfaction rate with the use of the cannula device instead. The aims of this study are to describe the experience of 4 aesthetic doctors in the treatment of TT deformity and assess complications and side effects, overall satisfaction and improvement. METHODS: Twenty-four patients were included (48 TTs) that fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria and they were assessed over a 4-week period, looking at the complications, side effects, satisfaction rate, and others with the cannula technique for the medial TT. RESULTS: Twenty-two women and 2 men each had the medial TT filler supra-periosteally using a cannula device. They were all reviewed at the 2-week stage +/− the 4-week stage. 100% of patients noted an overall improvement to the TTs and 75% were satisfied with their results with the other 25% requiring further filler to be satisfied. There were no major complications and only a small number of minor side effects like mild bruising and swelling that lasted up to 4 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: TT treatment, if performed using a cannula with a maximum of 1ml used in one sitting between both eyes, according to this study, is a safe treatment with a very low pain rating and with no major complications and high patient satisfaction.