Small-Particle Hyaluronic Acid Gel Treatment of Photoaged Hands.

BACKGROUND: Aging hands tend to lose subcutaneous volume resulting in prominence of the underlying vessels, tendons, and bone contributing to an aged appearance. Dermal fillers have been successfully used to improve the appearance of the aging dorsal hand.

OBJECTIVE: The objective is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a small-particle hyaluronic acid (SPHA) injectable gel for the treatment of photoaged volume loss of the hands.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is an open-label, prospective, randomized, interventional, study. Twenty-five healthy female volunteer subjects aged 40 to 70 years with photoaged thinning of the hands received an injection of an SPHA gel to the dorsal aspect of 1 hand. Subjects were followed up for 6 months. The hands were evaluated at regular intervals according to a 5-point validated hand grading scale.

RESULTS: The average hand grading scores demonstrated statistically significant improvement at all time points compared with baseline. Eighty-eight percent to 100% of subjects achieved improvement at 1 month after treatment, and 50% to 83% maintained at least 1 point improvement at 6 months. There were no adverse events reported.

CONCLUSION: The investigated SPHA is a safe and effective method for improving the thinned and photoaged appearance of the hands.