Nonsurgical rhinoplasty of the Asian nose

The hyaluronic acid filler Juvéderm VOLUMA (Allergan) can be used to safely and effectively correct aesthetically detracting or deficient features of the Asian nose, with results lasting more than 12 months, according to a new study just pulished in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal.

This could be good news, especially in Asia, where rhinoplasty ranks second to blepharoplasty as the most common procedure performed by plastic surgeons, according to the study.

Researchers, including plastic surgeons practicing in Australia and Brazil, as well as Allergan employees, studied 29 Asian patients whose noses were corrected using the filler with lidocaine injectable gel. Surgeons used a standardized injection procedure and patients were followed for more than 12 months.

At the first follow up visit, 27 of 29 patients had achieved a clinically meaningful correction of more than or equal to 1 grade improvement on the Assessment of Aesthetic Improvement Scale. By the final visit, 28 patients had a clinically meaningful correction, as assessed by the patients and an independent, non-injecting physician. Nearly 80% (23 patients) reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the filler treatment; three were neutral and two reported being very unsatisfied. There was a response missing for one patient.

Twenty-five of the patients in the study indicated they would recommend the filler treatment to others.

The authors conclude that they achieved these levels of success by using specific eligibility criteria, individualized treatment goals and a standardized injection procedure. They admit, however, that the most difficult outcome to achieve with the filler was alar base narrowing and/or nostril shape alteration.

The study offers evidence for the use of VOLUMA as a non-surgical alternative in carefully selected Asian patients unwilling or unable to have surgery, the authors write.

Among the possible limitations of the study: its non-comparative and open-label design, as well as the absence of a quantitative outcome parameter, according to the authors.

The Allergan-sponsored clinical study received a level evidence of 3 therapeutic from its publisher, the Aesthetic Surgery Journal.

Lisette Hilton

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