Vibration anesthesia for the reduction of pain with facial dermal filler injections.
BACKGROUND
Vibration anesthesia is an effective pain-reduction technique for facial cosmetic injections. The analgesic effect of this method was tested in this study during facial dermal filler injections. The study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of vibration anesthesia for these facial injections.


METHODS
This prospective study analyzed 41 patients who received dermal filler injections to the nasolabial folds, tear troughs, cheeks, and other facial sites. The injections were administered in a randomly assigned split-face design. One side of the patient's face received vibration together with dermal filler injections, whereas the other side received dermal filler injections alone. The patients completed a posttreatment questionnaire pertaining to injection pain, adverse effects, and preference for vibration with future dermal filler injections.


RESULTS
The patients experienced both clinically and statistically significant pain reduction when a vibration stimulus was co-administered with the dermal filler injections. No adverse events were reported. The majority of the patients (95 %) reported a preference for vibration anesthesia with subsequent dermal filler injections.


CONCLUSIONS
Vibration is a safe and effective method of achieving anesthesia during facial dermal filler injections.


METHODS
This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .
Department of Ophthalmology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Pooja
P
Mally
Craig N
CN
Czyz
Norman J
NJ
Chan
Allan E
AE
Wulc
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000758:Anesthesia / Q000379:methods*; D003357:Cosmetic Techniques; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007279:Injections, Subcutaneous; D060052:Nasolabial Fold; D010146:Pain / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012060:Rejuvenation / Q000502:physiology*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D015595:Skin Aging / Q000187:drug effects; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014732:Vibration / Q000627:therapeutic use*
C526061:Juvederm Ultra; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid