A PERSPECTIVE ON JUVÉDERM VOLUMA® XC
Are you interested to try JUVÉDERM VOLUMA® XC? Do you know anyone who has been treated with it? I would like to share with you my perspective from experience treating patients with JUVÉDERM VOLUMA® XC.
JUVÉDERM VOLUMA® XC has been available in the U.S. since December 2014. It was FDA approved for deep (subcutaneous and/or supraperiosteal) injection for cheek augmentation to correct age-related volume deficit in the mid-face. It is similar to other hyaluronic acid dermal fillers in that it produces an effect that will breakdown over time and can be dissolved with an enzyme if need be. It differs from the other JUVÉDERM® XC dermal fillers in several technical ways, but the real difference is in how it can be used and what it is used for.
JUVÉDERM VOLUMA® XC is approved for restoring volume loss. It is viscous enough to be able to lift the skin, muscle and fat in the area of injection. I tell patients that it is like injecting small amounts of Jello. This lift allows for a hollow to be re-contoured and reshaped to a more natural youthful appearance. The product works best when it has something to lift up from, such as being placed on a boney surface. From my perspective, it is an easy product to inject and mould and causes minimum swelling.
The study done by Allergan for FDA approval of JUVÉDERM VOLUMA® XC had over 300 patients initially but only 282 patients actually started – 235 in the treatment group and 47 in the control group. The patients in the treatment group were offered treatment of their cheeks in the zygomaticomalar region, anteromedial cheek and/or submalar region. After one month, the treatment group was offered a touch-up treatment. At that point, the study followed the patient’s responses to measure the product’s effectiveness in maintaining volume correction. Averaging the three treatment areas, the mean volume of JUVÉDERM VOLUMA® XC injected in the test patients for an initial treatment and a touch-up treatment was 6.8ml. The highest volume injected for this combined initial and touch-up treatment was 13.9ml. In other words, the test subjects used an average of 7 syringes up to the maximum of 14 syringes of JUVÉDERM VOLUMA® XC in this study.
Patients that continued in the study had their treatment response evaluated by two different methods – the Mid-Face Volume Deficit Scale and the Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale. Favorable treatment responses respectively were 85.6% and 82.2% at 6 months, 85.2% and 78.3% at 12 months, 85.2% and 78.3%, 71.5% and 68.0% at 18 months and 67.1% and 69.7% at 24 months. As you can see from the responses, as the months progressed from an initial treatment the correction started to decrease. However, this study is how Allergan makes the claim that JUVÉDERM VOLUMA® XC provides a correction for up to 24 months. They do not claim that it is as full of a correction as shortly after an initial treatment.
Let me put this all into some perspective. JUVÉDERM VOLUMA® XC is sold by the 1ml syringe. The advertising we see on TV and in magazine ads show the results of treatment but do not really give information as to how much product may be needed to achieve these ideal results. The average patient comes in with the expectation that a “treatment” will correct their hollows, but they don’t understand the scope of how much product may really be needed to achieve that goal. On top of it all, JUVÉDERM VOLUMA® XC is a pricey dermal filler. A patient needs to be informed of real expectations and real cost.
What has been my personal experience with patients? They have been overwhelmingly satisfied with the product. Patients report liking JUVÉDERM VOLUMA® XC and that they want more. I have had multiple patients come back in for further enhancement of treated areas.
Because of cost, treatment to restore volume to a patient’s cheeks may need to be done in several sessions. Adding or building up on existing layers of filler is common and practical. Most patients don’t want to look over-inflated but would rather see a gradual improvement over time. Because of the duration of a treatment result, a touch-up should be needed less often than with other dermal fillers, thus offsetting overall maintenance costs. Looking at test subjects’ favorable responses in the Allergan FDA study, patients probably should think about doing a touch-up treatment somewhere between 12 to 18 months.
In the U.S., JUVÉDERM VOLUMA® XC is approved only for mid-face age related volume loss. World-wide, JUVÉDERM VOLUMA® XC has been used to treat many different areas that were not FDA approved for treatment here, such as temples, chin, nasolabial folds, nose, lips, dorsal surface hands, nipples and glans penis. Though it is not FDA approved in the U.S. for Facial Lipoatrophy caused by HIV, a study done in Europe showed 100% of 21subjects reporting a much improved or a very much improved result at 9 months post-treatment with JUVÉDERM VOLUMA® XC.
To summarize, JUVÉDERM VOLUMA® XC is a great product for what it can do. It is a costly product, so make a treatment plan that includes an initial correction and periodic maintenance touch-ups. Have a discussion about your aesthetic goals and the realistic results that can be achieved within the constraints of your budget so that you will not be disappointed.
I am happy to have this conversation with you concerning JUVÉDERM VOLUMA® XC. You can schedule a Complimentary Consultation with me by calling Willo MediSpa at 602-296-4477, sending an email to [email protected] or contacting us thru our website.
Written By:
Dr. Nello Rossi – Willo MediSpa
Phoenix, AZ 85012
Phone: (602) 296-4477
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://willomedispa.com
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