Skin Boosters Treatment Information and Consent

Introduction

Skin boosters are sterile gels that consist of cross-linked non-animal based hyaluronic acid/vitamin/minerals/stem cells/exosomes. Skin booster products contain in addition 0.3% lidocaine (a local anaesthetic agent). The products are injected into the skin to correct lines, wrinkles and folds in faces, to sculpt lips and enhance facial contours. They are also used to restore elasticity of skin and reduce irregularities on the skin’s surface.

Consultation and Information

My treating practitioner has explained how and when skin boosters are used. I have been given the opportunity to ask questions and have received satisfactory answers to my questions. In particular, I have received information regarding when treatment with skin boosters should not take place and have also been informed of precautions, warnings for use with these products and common injection-related reactions.

Common Injection-Related Reactions

• Redness
• Swelling
• Pain
• Itching
• Bruising
• Tenderness at the implant location

These reactions are generally mild to moderate and usually disappear shortly after injection. They usually resolve spontaneously a few days after injection into the skin, within a week after injection into the lips.

Risks Involved

I have also been informed of the risks involved when injecting areas with underlying sensitive structures (e.g., nerves, vessels and eyes when treating wrinkles around eyes). There are isolated reports of small lumps developing at the treatment sites, and irregularities that can last several months if injection into the skin is too superficial.

Inflammatory reactions have been reported in rare cases; these have consisted of redness, swelling and induration at the injection location, which can at times affect surrounding tissue. Reactions have arisen either a few days or a few weeks after treatment. They have generally been mild to moderate and self-limiting, and the average duration is two weeks. In rare cases, reactions have been recurrent and lasted for several months.

Other adverse events received from post-marketing surveillance for the use of Restylane range of products are less common or rare, including discoloration, nodules, mass/induration, infection/abscess, acne-like formations, granuloma, hypersensitivity reactions, ischemia/necrosis, atrophy/scarring, reactivation of herpes infection, rash, pruritus, telangiectasia and urticaria.

Rarely, a few people have developed infections/inflammations that must be treated with antibiotics or other treatments.

Isolated rare cases of vision abnormalities including blindness have been reported when dermal fillers such as hyaluronic acid are used.

Contraindications

I have been informed that skin boosters containing lidocaine must not be used in individuals with known hypersensitivity to lidocaine or amide-type local anaesthetics. Like administration of dental anaesthetic, there is diminished sensation to pain and temperature in the treated area for about two hours.

My practitioner has also informed me that topical anaesthetic cream might be used to have additional pain relief especially if skin boosters without lidocaine will be injected. I have received information regarding when and what topical anaesthetics will be used, and information regarding contraindications, warnings/precautions of use of these products and potential side effects.

Effectiveness and Follow-Up

My treating practitioner has also informed me that, depending on the treated area and injection technique, effects from the treatment can last 6-12 months (lips around 6 months), but this period may vary, either longer or shorter. Follow-up treatment helps maintain the desired correction.