Hyaluronic Acid Filler with Lidocaine X without Lidocaine

Introduction: Facial fillers such as hyaluronic acid (HA) are a common and minimally invasive option for smoothing facial wrinkles and folds. Pain and discomfort are among the patient’s concerns about filler injections. To decrease that concern, HA manufactures with lidocaine were recently developed. Some advantages and disadvantages between the products have been studied recently to give to the physician security above the use.

Objective: To demonstrate through the review of published clinical trials, the advantages and disadvantages of the use of HA fillers with lidocaine.

Data Synthesis: Studies have showed many a difference between a physician adding an aqueous solution into a lidocaine-free version of HA and the pre-incorporated lidocaine version of HA. An aqueous solution might dilute the product, whereas the pre-incorporated powder lidocaine appears to avoid this problem. So, a disadvantage is the possible alteration of the physical characteristics of the product by negatively impacting the efficacy and/or duration of the filler, changing consequently the “lifting” ability of the product. Furthermore, the largest cost of the product compared with HA isolated and the possibility of patient’s lidocaine allergy could be another negative points.

Conclusion: Studies have shown that the incorporation of lidocaine to HA fillers significantly reduces pain and discomfort. It seems that the pre-incorporate powder lidocaine does not change the physical characteristics of the product or dilute the product, and consequently does not affect the efficacy and viscosity of the product. Regarding the duration of the product, more studies with a longer follow-up are necessary to clarify that.