Just a week after we posted about the benefits of using of lidocaine during cosmetic injections, the FDA granted clearance to the new Juvederm XC – a  filler with 0.3 % lidocaine. The new formula is the most recent addition to the list of “more comfortable” hyaluronic acid fillers.

Manufacturer Allergan Inc posted data about patient comfort obtained during clinical trials, reporting that over 90 percent of the 72 participating subjects said they experienced less pain with Juvederm XC.

That data is crucial, because some people have questioned the value of anesthetic contained in a dermal filler: Is it just for the sake of marketing? When Prevelle Silk came out in 2008, Dr. Joe Niamtu said this to Cosmetic Surgery Times:

“The issue with a hyaluronic acid filler with lidocaine is that it doesn’t work until you actually start injecting patients, and these injections are so quick, by the time the lidocaine takes effect, you’re almost finished”

I wouldn’t expect plastic surgeons to abandon the already effective methods of pain management, but if the Juvederm XC formula acts quickly enough and you get a more comfortable treatment, that can’t be a bad thing.  We’ll know more when the filler comes to San Francisco.

• Juvederm at Dr. Maddali’s office
• Juvederm website with info on XC

Tags: Juvederm

This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 3:44 pm by editor and is filed under Injectables. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.