Treatment of Horizontal Wrinkles of the Neck Using a Hyaluronic Acid Filler: Results From a Prospective Study.

BACKGROUND: VYC-12 is a hyaluronic acid filler with low cohesivity. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of VYC-12 for aesthetic improvement of horizontal neck lines. METHODS: This was a prospective study of consecutive women undergoing neck treatment using VYC-12. All had a baseline score of 1 to 4 on the Allergan Transverse Neck Lines Scale (ATNLS). Individuals with an ATNLS score of 1 to 3 were treated with VYC-12 alone; those with a score of 4 received filler combined with high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). Total VYC-12 volumes were ∼1 mL per patient. Follow-up lasted ≤30 months. RESULTS: Fifty women were enrolled (mean age: 55.0 ± 5.7 years; n = 42 VYC-12 alone, n = 8 VYC-12 + HIFU). Forty-six patients (92%) achieved a ≥ 1-grade improvement on ATNLS 1 month post-treatment; the mean ATNLS score decreased from 2.64 ± 0.83 to 1.44 ± 0.81 (p < .0001). Rasch-transformed scores on the FACE-Q "Appraisal of the Neck" questionnaire improved from 31.0 ± 14.2 at baseline to 49.7 ± 14.4 at 1 month (p < .0001). Repeat injections at 9- to 12-month intervals led to progressive improvements. There were no treatment-related adverse events. CONCLUSION: Treatment of the neck using VYC-12 was safe and effective in reducing the appearance of horizontal lines.

A personalized treatment approach of frontalis muscle with botulinum toxin A (Bont-A) related to functional anatomy: case studies.

Background: The forehead is one of the most frequent sites of botulinum toxin (Bont-A) application. To date, few data are available about the anatomy of the frontalis muscle. Its anatomy is highly heterogeneous in Caucasian people. Consequently, personalized treatments with botulinum toxin-A (Bont-A) are needed to obtain good esthetic results and to reduce side effects. Recently, a study on cadavers found four anatomical shapes of the frontalis muscle, corresponding to four horizontal wrinkle patterns in live patients.Objective: To perform a personalized, reproducible, and safer treatment with Bont-A of the forehead, by classifying patients according to four specific anatomical shapes of the frontalis muscle related to skin wrinkle patterns during contraction.Methods: We treated four patients classified according to the four anatomic types (I, II, III, and IV). The patients' forehead was divided into 21 areas and matched with 4 horizontal wrinkle patterns. Detecting different activities of the muscle in the different areas of the forehead, treatment injections were performed with a different dose, dilution, and at different anatomical layers (intramuscular or intradermal) per point.Conclusions: We confirmed four different wrinkle patterns after forehead contraction according to the anatomical shape of the frontalis muscle. This allows us to perform a tailored treatment with Bont-A. Nevertheless, some patients with atypical patterns still need "ad hoc" treatment.