A Retrospective Review of the Safety and Efficacy of Low-dose Triamcinolone Mixed with Hyaluronic Acid Fillers to Reduce Post-injection Infraorbital Swelling.

[OBJECTIVE] This retrospective review assesses the efficacy and safety of low-dose triamcinolone (1mg/cc) added to hyaluronic acid fillers to decrease swelling after infraorbital injection.

[METHODS] This retrospective analysis includes 447 patients who underwent 706 infraorbital hyaluronic acid filler treatments from April 2013 to March 2020 by a single injector. Short-term post-procedural swelling (≤2 weeks) was assessed through follow-up phone calls, which were documented in patient charts. The effect of triamcinolone, filler type, volume, and patient characteristics on the rate of post-procedure swelling were analyzed.

[RESULTS] Swelling after infraorbital hyaluronic acid filler occurred in over half of the patients (51%, 103/202), but significantly decreased (23%, 29/124) when 1mg/cc of triamcinolone was mixed with the filler (x2[1, N=326]=24.296, <0.00001). The incidence of swelling was directly correlated with the amount of hyaluronic acid filler injected (37% ≤ 0.55cc, 51% 0.56-1cc, and 60% >1cc) [x2[1, N=95]=3.9231, =.048]. There was no significant difference in patient age, sex, Fitzpatrick skin type, or history of allergies on incidence of post-procedure swelling. Adverse events were limited to expected injection-site reactions, and there were no reports of hypopigmentation or atrophy from the addition of triamcinolone.

[LIMITATIONS] This is a retrospective study that used patient reporting for short-term post procedure swelling.

[CONCLUSION] This is the first retrospective study showing the safety and efficacy of a novel technique adding low-dose triamcinolone (1mg/cc) to hyaluronic acid filler to reduce post-procedure swelling within the first few weeks following infraorbital injection. Additionally, using lower volumes is also effective at reducing post-procedure swelling. Larger, randomized, controlled trials are needed to support our findings.