title: Vascular Age as a Predictor of Side Effects After Facial Lipofilling.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Vascular age (VA) represents chronological age adjusted for an individual's atherosclerotic burden. Keeping in mind the fact that facial vascularization could influence the success of esthetic interventions, we aimed to investigate the predictive value of VA in development of side effects following facial lipofilling.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the period from October 1, 2014, to October 1, 2015, 106 consecutive subjects who underwent a facial lipofilling were included in the study. The VA was calculated using two approaches: Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) project equations and means of vascular parameters assessed by color duplex sonographic examinations. The data regarding facial lipofilling-related complications (pain, edema and/or hematoma) have been collected during the regular checkups over 2 weeks after intervention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average chronological age of the participants was 50.9 ± 9.4 years. Estimation of VA using vascular sonographic parameters revealed the value of 45.4 ± 29.1 years, whereas the assessment of VA using SCORE equations showed that the mean age was 53.7 ± 12.7 (p = 0.006). The total frequency of these complications was as follows: 6.6% for hematoma, 15.1% for edema (13.2% mild edema and 1.9% severe edema) and 20.8% for local facial pain (17.0% mild pain and 3.8% severe pain). The multivariate logistic regression models showed that VA had statistically significant (p < 0.01) independent prognostic value for facial lipofilling-related appearance of hematoma and pain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of our study revealed that advanced VA has an independent predictive role in the appearance of complications following facial plastic surgery.
  
  
  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 .
authors.affiliation: BT-Clinic Aesthetic Surgery, Belgrade, 11000, Serbia.
authors.forename: Brakica
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tepavcevic
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases "Dedinje", Belgrade, 11000, Serbia.
authors.forename: Djordje
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Radak
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, 11000, Serbia.
authors.forename: Milan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jovanovic
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases "Dedinje", Belgrade, 11000, Serbia.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Radak
authors.affiliation: Institute of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Visegradska 26, Belgrade, 11000, Serbia. darijakt@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Darija Kisic
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Tepavcevic
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000637:transplantation*; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D003357:Cosmetic Techniques / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004487:Edema / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005145:Face / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006406:Hematoma / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012060:Rejuvenation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D015595:Skin Aging; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous / Q000009:adverse effects; D017211:Treatment Failure; D018616:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Duplex
keywords: Lipofilling; Side effects; Vascular age