Abstract
Background: Injection-related bruising is a common complication of many injectable treatments including facial injections of botulinum toxin (BTX) for aesthetic use. Objective: We have investigated the use of a vein imaging laser (VIL) to observe otherwise non-visible subcutaneous blood vessels in 40 patients who had a history of bruising with past BTX injections to the face during the previous 12 months. Methods: Over a 4-month period 40 patients, who previously had developed bruising after injectable BTX to the face, were treated with further BTX to the same areas as previously, but using a VIL during the injections. Patients were evaluated for their severity of bruising. Results: 40 patients out of 2400 patients had experienced bruising with a severity score total of 92 (mean per patient 2.3) with BTX injections before VIL use. On injection using the VIL 6 of the 40 patients had bruising with severity score total of 7 (mean 1.16). Conclusion: The use of a VIL significantly reduced the frequency and severity of bruising associated with BTX injections.
Declaration of interest The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.