Volumetric study shows objective effects of hyaluronic acid filler injections

Objective measures reflect patient-reported outcomes, reports Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

2025-09-26

(Press-News.org) September 26, 2025 — Initial and follow-up 3D digital scans provide new insights into the effects of hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers in restoring facial volume and fullness, reports a study in the October issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

"Our study combines objective measurements of volumetric effects with patient satisfaction and other subjective outcomes to provide a deeper understanding of the immediate and long-term course of improvement after treatment with HA fillers," comments senior author and ASPS Member Surgeon Ivona Percec, MD, PhD, of University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

Facial volumes after HA filler injection: Immediate and follow-up measurements

Injectable dermal fillers are widely used for patients seeking a more youthful appearance – reducing facial lines and wrinkles and restoring aging-related loss of tissue volume. Hyaluronic acid products are the most popular fillers, with more than 5.3 million procedures performed in 2024, according to ASPS statistics.

Although studies have shown good improvement with HA fillers, there are limited data on long-term changes in facial volume or patient perceptions of treatment results. To address these gaps, Dr. Percec and colleagues evaluated objective and subjective outcomes of HA filler injection.

The researchers used advanced three-dimensional scanning technology (Vectra M3 imaging system) to measure immediate and long-term changes in tissue volumes. In addition, a wide range of patient-reported outcomes – including facial appearance and quality of life – were evaluated using the validated FACE-Q questionnaire.

The study included 101 women, aged 40 to 65 years, undergoing HA filler injections for facial rejuvenation. Three formulations of HA filler were used in different areas of the face. The 3D scans were performed immediately before and after treatment and at two to 12 weeks' follow-up to assess volumetric effects (increases in tissue volume) in eight areas of the face.

'HA fillers achieve patient satisfaction a minimum of 12 weeks following treatment'

Based on a measure called tissue displacement factor (TDF), the scans showed immediate increased in facial volume after HA filler injection, ranging from 125% to 56%. These effects lessened as initial swelling and inflammation resolved. By two weeks, the effective volume (EV) was about 90% for HA injections in the lower and middle face and 70% in the lips.

At 12 weeks, volume maintenance was about 66% in the whole face, ranging from 79% in the midface, including the cheeks; to 63% in the upper perioral region, including the "marionette lines" between the nose and lips; and 37% in the lips.

Corresponding FACE-Q responses showed meaningful improvements in patient-reported outcomes. In addition to subjective improvements in overall appearance and in the specific facial areas treated, patients reported gains in psychological and social functioning.

Volume maintenance was affected by factors including age, history of smoking, and body mass index. "These and other patient-specific variables contribute significantly to outcomes of HA gel injections, requiring individual assessment.” Dr. Percec notes.

The objective measurements provide new information on the immediate and long-term volumetric effects of HA filler injection. The two-week follow-up results seem to reflect "the final effective clinical volume," according to the authors. The differences between facial regions likely reflect the greater volume loss in areas with "greater animation," particularly the lips; as well as the physical properties of the smaller-particle HA filler product designed for use in the lips.

The FACE-Q data on patient-reported outcomes add to previous studies showing "HA fillers' capacity to achieve patient satisfaction a minimum of 12 weeks following treatment," Dr. Percec and coauthors conclude. They believe the objective data on volumetric effects – particularly the TDF and EV, reflecting initial and final changes in facial volumes – "should be consistently applied during treatment selection and patient counseling to optimize clinical outcomes and expectations."

Read Article: A Large Prospective Volumetric and Patient Reported Outcome Analysis of Hyaluronic Acid Fillers to the Face

Wolters Kluwer provides trusted clinical technology and evidence-based solutions that engage clinicians, patients, researchers and students in effective decision-making and outcomes across healthcare. We support clinical effectiveness, learning and research, clinical surveillance and compliance, as well as data solutions. For more information about our solutions, visit https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/health.

###

About Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer (EURONEXT: WKL) is a global leader in information, software solutions and services for professionals in healthcare; tax and accounting; financial and corporate compliance; legal and regulatory; corporate performance and ESG. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with technology and services.

Wolters Kluwer reported 2024 annual revenues of €5.9 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 21,600 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.

For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New AI system could accelerate clinical research

2025-09-26

Cambridge, MA – Annotating regions of interest in medical images, a process known as segmentation, is often one of the first steps clinical researchers take when running a new study involving biomedical images. For instance, to determine how the size of the brain’s hippocampus changes as patients age, the scientist first outlines each hippocampus in a series of brain scans. For many structures and image types, this is often a manual process that can be extremely time-consuming, especially if the regions being studied are challenging to delineate. To streamline the process, MIT researchers developed an artificial intelligence-based ...

ITU and UNDP bring global community together to advance technology for good

2025-09-26

New York, 26 September 2025 – Digital leaders from government, the private sector and civil society, including youth representatives, shared insights on how technology can be a force for good, for people and prosperity at Digital@UNGA 2025, a week-long series of activities during the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. Digital@UNGA, organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), brought together thousands of participants through its Anchor Event at United Nations Headquarters and over 40 affiliate sessions hosted in New York, across the UN system and online ...

Meet INSEAD AI50 - An alumni-led recognition of global AI builders

2025-09-26

The INSEAD AI 50, an alum-led initiative, today announced its inaugural list recognizing 50 members of the INSEAD community who are shaping artificial intelligence across finance, healthcare, retail, climate, industrials, media and the public sector. Honorees hail from North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, reflecting the school’s 170+ nationalities and presence in nearly 180 countries. Honorees include founders, executives, board leaders, researchers and educators who turn AI from research into responsible, scaled deployment. Anyone can view the INSEAD AI 50 at INSEADAI50.com. “INSEAD leaders focus on tangible outcomes customers ...

A mother’s death during or after pregnancy may increase risk of infant’s death or hospitalization

2025-09-26

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, September 26, 2025 Contact: Jillian McKoy, jpmckoy@bu.edu Michael Saunders, msaunder@bu.edu ## A Mother’s Death During or After Pregnancy May Increase Risk of Infant’s Death or Hospitalization A new study found that infant mortality rates in Massachusetts were 14 times higher among babies whose mother experienced a pregnancy-associated death than among babies whose mother survived pregnancy and postpartum. Global health research has long shown the devastating consequences that maternal deaths have on families and communities in developing countries where maternal mortality rates ...

Child and adolescent firearm-related homicide occurring at home

2025-09-26

About The Study: This study found that nearly one-quarter of pediatric firearm-related homicides occurred at home. Young children were more often affected. These data point to domestic violence and child abuse as significant risk factors for in-home firearm homicide. Traditional safe storage laws may be inadequate preventive measures. Extreme risk protection orders and mandatory domestic violence–related firearm relinquishment may prevent these deaths and warrant further investigation. Corresponding ...

In-home gun homicides of children has more than doubled since 2010

2025-09-26

Nearly one-quarter of child and adolescent victims of firearm homicide were killed in their own homes from 2020-2021, including nearly two-thirds of child victims aged 12 and under, UCLA-led research finds. The findings, to be published Sept. 26 in the peer-reviewed JAMA Surgery, also found that rates of in-home firearm homicide have more than doubled among children and adolescents since 2010. They found that these cases were often linked with intimate partner violence and child abuse. Parents were the most common assailants for these homicides. These data suggest that Extreme Risk Protection ...

Wealthier countries waste more food per person, but urbanization is narrowing this gap

2025-09-26

Globally, the average person wastes around 132 kg of food per year, and this number is rising. Wealthy countries waste more food per person, but in an opinion paper publishing September 26 in the Cell Press journal Cell Reports Sustainability, agricultural economists highlight how urbanization and economic expansion are driving increases in food waste in lower- and middle-income countries. Curbing food waste will require policy and structural initiatives, they argue, such as incentivizing supermarkets and restaurants to donate food and educating consumers to promote smarter purchasing and better food storage practices. “If left unaddressed, rising waste in middle- and ...

Medicaid billed for 52% of U.S. hospital costs from gun injuries

2025-09-26

Medicaid reimbursement often falls short of actual treatment costs, leaving trauma centers on the front lines of the gun violence epidemic to absorb substantial losses Study authors concerned Medicaid funding cuts could further strain trauma centers Costs stayed flat through 2019, then rose 33% from 2019 to 2021, coinciding with a rise in firearm injury during the pandemic CHICAGO --- The initial hospital treatment of firearm injuries cost the U.S. health care system an estimated $7.7 billion between 2016 and 2021, with the largest share falling on urban trauma center hospitals that serve the highest proportion ...

Study reveals how a single protein rewires leukemia cells to fuel their growth

2025-09-26

Cancer cells are relentless in their quest to grow and divide, often rewiring their metabolism and modifying RNA to stay one step ahead. Now, researchers at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a single protein, IGF2BP3, that links these two processes together in leukemia cells. The protein shifts how cells break down sugar, favoring a fast but inefficient energy pathway, while also altering RNA modifications that help produce the proteins leukemia cells need to survive and multiply. The discovery, published in Cell Reports, positions IGF2BP3 as a “master ...

Children with chronic conditions may face higher risk of food insecurity, study suggests

2025-09-26

Food insecurity is more common among children with a chronic medical condition than those without one, a new study suggests. The prevalence of food insecurity remained higher in this group even after adjusting for key family and household characteristics, including income, education and employment status, according to the Michigan Medicine-led research in JAMA Network Open. “Our study suggests that children with chronic conditions should be prioritized in efforts to reduce the harms of food insecurity,” said lead author Nina Hill, M.D., a postdoctoral research ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

University of Phoenix College of Social and Behavioral Sciences leadership publishes white paper on trauma-informed education

Identifying the best high-biomass sorghum hybrids based on biomass yield potential and feedstock quality affected by nitrogen fertility management under various environments