THE ROLE OF DERMATOSONOGRAPHY IN EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INJECTABLE CONTOUR CORRECTION FOR THE UPPER FACE

Summary. Objective. Dermatosonographic assessment of the effectiveness of correcting involutional changes in the upper face using 30 % calcium hydroxyapatite injections. Materials and Methods. The study analyzed injection-based contour correction of the upper face in 21 female patients aged 35 to 42 years (mean age – 38.04). Forehead wrinkles were treated with fillers containing 30 % calcium hydroxyapatite and 70 % polymer gel (sodium carboxymethylcellulose, glycerol, water for injection). The procedure’s effectiveness was evaluated dermatosonographically one month after the procedure. Results. The patients’ epidermal thickness before the procedure averaged (0.305±0.032) mm (median 0.313 mm). One month after the procedure, the epidermal thickness significantly increased to (0.339±0.033) mm (median 0.353 mm). The most intensive filler degradation was observed in patients aged 37 to 39 years (35-50 % of the initial volume), while the least pronounced degradation was noted in patients aged 40 to 42 years (25% of the initial volume). Correlation analysis between age and filler degradation percentage did not reveal a significant relationship (p>0.05). Conclusion. The use of dermatosonography allows for the evaluation of the effectiveness of correcting involutional changes in the upper face using 30 % calcium hydroxyapatite injections and monitoring the degradation percentage of the filler.