David Hoffman
Injectable fillers containing Hyaluronic Acid (HA) are increasingly used for face rejuvenation and recontouring. We share our experiences to highlight the value of HA fillers as instruments for post-surgical facial sequelae that go beyond aesthetic therapies. The use of HA fillers in trauma, reconstructive, and craniofacial surgery is a potential new horizon for this class of medications, which are typically employed for aesthetic rejuvenation. The Maxillofacial Surgical Unit at the University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" in Naples treated patients for lip incompetence, trauma, oncological, reconstructive, and craniosynostosis surgery sequelae. This study was retrospective in nature. Patient satisfaction was evaluated using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). There were no serious problems (such as imminent necrosis or loss of vision) recorded. 48 hours after lip injection, there were reports of bruising and swelling. 67% of the patients scored as "very satisfied" and 33% as "satisfied" on the initial VAS rating. At 6 weeks-9 weeks and 3 months-6 months after the VAS test, "very satisfied" replaced "satisfied" in 33% of those cases (contextually to improvement in tissue flexibility, elasticity, and aesthetic appearance). According to the results, this minimally invasive method successfully enhances the patient's appearance to a high degree, which increases patient happiness. The idea of using HA fillers could open up new possibilities in various branches of reconstructive facial plastic surgery.