A blinded, randomized, split-face pilot study of bruising and pain with hyaluronic acid for correction of perioral lines using no lidocaine, lidocaine alone, and lidocaine and epinephrine.

BACKGROUND Hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers are sometimes mixed with lidocaine to mitigate pain. Whether the addition of epinephrine to lidocaine provides greater benefits in bruising and pain has not been fully reported. OBJECTIVES The investigators explored the severity of bruising and pain in patients treated with the cohesive polydensified matrix HA (CPMHA) in 3 different preparations: CPMHA (Belotero Balance [BEL]), CPMHA with lidocaine (BEL-L), and CPMHA with lidocaine and epinephrine (BEL-LE). METHODS In a blinded, split-face, 14-day study, 30 patients were divided into groups of 10. One group received 1.0 mL BEL in the perioral lines on 1 side and 1.0 mL of BEL-LE on the other side. A second group received 1.0 mL of BEL on 1 side and 1.0 mL of BEL-L on the other side. The third group received 1.0 mL of BEL-L on 1 side and 1.0 mL of BEL-LE on the other side. Over 3 visits, the treating investigator, the patients, and a blinded investigator rated the bruising. RESULTS Bruising occurred in each treatment group by day 1 but resolved for half of the patients by day 7 and for all patients by day 14. Split-face comparison did not reveal a significant difference in pain and bruising scores among the 3 preparations. CONCLUSIONS No significant difference was found in bruising or pain in patients treated with BEL, BEL-L, and BEL-LE. Studies with a considerably larger sample size are warranted to determine statistically significant and clinically meaningful differences between and among the various formulations.