ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Giornale Italiano di Dermatologia e Venereologia 2016 October;151(5):467-72

Copyright © 2016 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

The facial grid analysis for filler injection: a cohort study of 300 patients

Dario BERTOSSI ¹, Gianpaolo TESSARI ², Giampiero GIROLOMONI ², Pier F. NOCINI ¹ ✉

¹ Section of Dentistry and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Verona, Verona, Italy; ² Section of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy

BACKGROUND: Filler injection is widely used for facial rejuvenation. Global skin rejuvenation requires the precise sequential injections of different areas, but a standardized and reproducible method is lacking. The purpose of the study was to develop a new method for a precise measurement of the degree of facial defect before and after full-face rejuvenation with injectable fillers, so called facial filler (FAFI) grid.
METHODS: Three hundreds patients were included. There were 76 males and 224 females with a median age of 30.5 years. A grid of horizontal and vertical lines was drawn on the patients’ face with a rigid meter and a surgical pen to identify some precise areas for sequential filler injections. The grid was also used to measure the defects and the corrections obtained. Three different formulations of hyaluronic acid were used for treating specific facial areas.
RESULTS: Correction was judged adequate in 77% and 90% of cases by the physician and patients, respectively. Prevalence of adverse events was 8.8%, with mostly mild, with resolution in few weeks.
CONCLUSIONS: FAFI grid proved to be helpful in guiding sequential injections for total facial rejuvenation.