Restylane and people of color.
BACKGROUND
Ethnic skin presents a unique paradox. Its melanin content provides protection from the sun, but the same skin can react to the slightest of injuries. The safety of Restylane in patients with increased susceptibility to keloid formation, hypertrophic scarring, hypersensitivity, and hyperpigmentation has not been studied. A retrospective review was used to determine whether Fitzpatrick skin types IV to VI are associated with an increased incidence of adverse outcomes related to Restylane use.


METHODS
Sixty consecutive patients were injected with Restylane by a single surgeon (J.W.F.). Forty patients were categorized as Fitzpatrick skin types I to III and 20 as types IV to VI. Patient charts were reviewed for transient and permanent adverse outcomes related to Restylane injections, such as hypersensitivity, scar formation, altered pigmentation, and contour irregularities. All patients were evaluated at 2 to 4 weeks and 6 to 9 months.


RESULTS
The authors observed that 97.50 percent of the Fitzpatrick type I to III patients had no transient adverse outcomes related to Restylane injections. One patient experienced a 36-hour episode of exaggerated angioedema of the lips after injection, which resolved spontaneously. Another patient had an inclusion cyst that required incision and drainage and a 7-day course of antibiotics. None of the type I to III patients had permanent adverse outcomes related to Restylane. There were no transient or permanent adverse outcomes among the type IV to VI subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrates that with proper and meticulous injection techniques, patients with Fitzpatrick skin types IV to VI can experience the same benefits of Restylane therapy as their lighter-complected counterparts.
Odunze
Millicent
M
Chicago, Ill. From the Division of Plastic Surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, and the Section of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago.
Cohn
Alvin
A
Few
Julius W
JW
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017439:Cicatrix, Hypertrophic / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology; D003357:Cosmetic Techniques; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D007271:Injections, Intradermal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D007627:Keloid / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015595:Skin Aging; D012880:Skin Pigmentation / Q000235:genetics; D000091762:Ethnic and Racial Minorities
D006820:Hyaluronic Acid; C445361:Restylane