A Retrospective Review of the Safety and Efficacy of Low-dose Triamcinolone Mixed with Hyaluronic Acid Fillers to Reduce Post-injection Infraorbital Swelling

OBJECTIVE

This retrospective review assesses the efficacy and safety of low-dose triamcinolone (1mg/cc) added to hyaluronic acid fillers to decrease swelling after infraorbital injection.

METHODS

This retrospective analysis includes 447 patients who underwent 706 infraorbital hyaluronic acid filler treatments from April 2013 to March 2020 by a single injector. Short-term post-procedural swelling (≤2 weeks) was assessed through follow-up phone calls, which were documented in patient charts. The effect of triamcinolone, filler type, volume, and patient characteristics on the rate of post-procedure swelling were analyzed.

RESULTS

Swelling after infraorbital hyaluronic acid filler occurred in over half of the patients (51%, 103/202), but significantly decreased (23%, 29/124) when 1mg/cc of triamcinolone was mixed with the filler (x2[1, N=326]=24.296, p<0.00001). The incidence of swelling was directly correlated with the amount of hyaluronic acid filler injected (37% ≤ 0.55cc, 51% 0.56-1cc, and 60% >1cc) [x2[1, N=95]=3.9231, p=.048]. There was no significant difference in patient age, sex, Fitzpatrick skin type, or history of allergies on incidence of post-procedure swelling. Adverse events were limited to expected injection-site reactions, and there were no reports of hypopigmentation or atrophy from the addition of triamcinolone.

LIMITATIONS

This is a retrospective study that used patient reporting for short-term post procedure swelling.

CONCLUSION

This is the first retrospective study showing the safety and efficacy of a novel technique adding low-dose triamcinolone (1mg/cc) to hyaluronic acid filler to reduce post-procedure swelling within the first few weeks following infraorbital injection. Additionally, using lower volumes is also effective at reducing post-procedure swelling. Larger, randomized, controlled trials are needed to support our findings.