What it means for a patient
- This filler was tested for building up a chin that sits too far back.
- At 60 weeks, treated patients had a larger chin profile angle and better appearance scores than untreated patients.
- Side effects were mainly mild to moderate, short-lived reactions at the injection site.
- The comparison group received no treatment. The trial does not compare PVA-HA with existing fillers.
- The abstract reports a mean angle change of about 1 degree. It does not state what change patients can see.
Why this paper matters
It reported lab, animal and 60-week randomized trial data for a new PVA-HA filler for the chin. The authors conclude it gives clinically significant and safe results in chin augmentation.
Overview
Dermal fillers are a main treatment for chin retrusion, but current options have limits in how long they last and in their mechanical properties. The authors tested a filler of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) microspheres suspended in hyaluronic acid (PVA-HA). They measured its physical properties in the lab, tested biocompatibility in animals, and then ran a prospective randomized controlled trial from June 2021 to March 2023.
Findings
- Lab tests: PVA microspheres attracted water, were soft and had mechanical properties comparable to natural periosteum.
- Animal tests: PVA-HA caused only a mild, transient inflammatory response.
- Trial: 144 subjects with chin retrusion were randomized 3:1 to PVA-HA or no treatment.
- G-Sn-Pog' angle at 60 weeks: mean increase of 1.12° (95% CI 0.83° to 1.41°) with PVA-HA.
- Control group at 60 weeks: mean decrease of 0.42° (95% CI -0.87° to 0.03°).
- Between-group difference: 1.54° (P < .01).
- Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale and chin retrusion scale both improved significantly (P < .001).
- Adverse events were mainly mild to moderate, transient injection-site reactions.
Terms
- Chin retrusion: a chin that sits back relative to the rest of the face.
- Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) microspheres: tiny synthetic beads.
- Hyaluronic acid (HA): a gel made of a sugar found naturally in skin, used in fillers.
- G-Sn-Pog' angle: an angle through the point between the brows (glabella), the base of the nose (subnasale) and the front of the chin (soft-tissue pogonion), used to measure chin projection.
- Periosteum: the thin tissue layer that covers bone.
- Biocompatibility: how well the body tolerates a material.
- Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale (GAIS): a rating of how much appearance improved.
- Randomized controlled trial: a study that assigns participants by chance to a treatment group or a control group.