Journal of Clinical & Experimental Dermatology Research
Open Access
ISSN: 2155-9554
+44 1478 350008
ISSN: 2155-9554
+44 1478 350008
John Zade, Dan Bernstein and Hooman Khorasani
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, USA
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Clin Exp Dermatol Res
The injection of soft tissue augmentation products or fillers is now a common place aesthetic procedure. When the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) conducted a survey in 2014 of the most common non-surgical procedures in the United States, it found the injection of hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers was the second only to botulinum toxin injections. Hyaluronic acids have a superior safety profile when compared with other soft tissue augmentation products because they exhibit minimal tissue reactivity while being reversible with commercially available hyaluronidase preparations. As such, the storage of HA fillers has come under scrutiny in recent years and the use of these products past their expiration date has come to light. While not uncommon, reuse of HA fillers after opening or past their expiration date is not recommended by manufacturers and has led to controversy since the science behind these practices is infrequently studied. In our study, we cultured 17 used and unused HA fillers from syringes that were stored in recommended conditions but had passed their expiration dates (range of 9 months to 3 years). Analysis did not reveal a single case of bacterial growth in any of our samples. However, more studies are needed before conclusive statements can be drawn from these data. In addition, samples were not analyzed for physical degradation that may reduce the filler��?s in vivo effectiveness.
Email: jzade14@gmail.com