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Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging Guides Needling Treatment of Vascular Complications from Dermal Fillers

  • Original Articles
  • Face and Neck Surgery
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Abstract

Background

Although laser Doppler imaging (LDI) accurately delineates a hypoperfused area to help target hyaluronidase treatment, laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) is more appropriate for assessing microvascular hemodynamics and has greater reproducibility than LDI. This study investigated the use of LSCI in the evaluation and treatment of six patients who developed vascular complications after facial dermal filler injections.

Methods

The areas of vascular occlusion were accurately defined in real time by LSCI and were more precise than visual inspections or photographic evidence for guiding needling and hyaluronidase treatment.

Results

All patients had achieved satisfactory outcomes as early as Day 2 of treatment and no procedure-related complications were reported after a median follow-up of 9.5 (7–37) days.

Conclusion

LSCI accurately and noninvasively delineated vascular occlusions in real time among patients experiencing complications of facial dermal filler injections. Moreover, LSCI was more accurate than visual and photographic evaluations. Clinicians can use LSCI to reliably follow-up therapeutic outcomes after salvage interventions for vascular occlusions.

Level of Evidence IV

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Mackay Memorial Hospital, No. 92, Sec. 2, Zhongshan N. Rd, Taipei City, 10449, Taiwan

    Ming-Feng Tsai, Chia-Meng Yu, Yu-Fan Chen, Tzu-Yi Chung, Guan-Heng Lin, An-Li Lee, Chieh-Ming Yu, Hsuan-Yu Huang, Ying-Chun Liu, Wen-Chen Huang, Kwang-Yi Tung & Wen-Teng Yao

  2. Department of Medicine, MacKay Medical College, New Taipei, 25245, Taiwan

    Ming-Feng Tsai, Chia-Meng Yu, Yu-Fan Chen, An-Li Lee, Chieh-Ming Yu, Hsuan-Yu Huang, Ying-Chun Liu, Wen-Chen Huang, Kwang-Yi Tung & Wen-Teng Yao

  3. Graduate Institute of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei City, 101, Taiwan

    Ming-Feng Tsai

  4. Department of Dermatology, New Taipei Municipal TuCheng Hospital, New Taipei City, 236, Taiwan

    Chin-Yi Yang

  5. Department of Dermatology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou Branch, Taoyuan, 333, Taiwan

    Chin-Yi Yang

  6. Department of Cosmetic Science, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Linkuo, Taoyuan, 333, Taiwan

    Chin-Yi Yang

  7. School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, 333, Taiwan

    Chin-Yi Yang

  8. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 106, Taiwan

    Wen-Teng Yao

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  1. Ming-Feng Tsai
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Correspondence to Wen-Teng Yao.

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Tsai, MF., Yu, CM., Chen, YF. et al. Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging Guides Needling Treatment of Vascular Complications from Dermal Fillers. Aesth Plast Surg 48, 1067–1075 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-023-03629-z

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