THE USE OF ALLOGENIC COLLAGEN GEL IN NASOLABIAL FOLD TREATMENT: AN EXPERIMENTAL ASSESSMENT

The influence of facial appearance on people’s mental confidence is well-known in the modern life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of human-derived collagen gel injection on nasolabial folds and reveal a safe and cost-reasonable candidate for aesthetic and therapeutic cases. This assessment was a quasi-experimental interventional study on patients referred to the plastic surgery clinic of Imam Hospital in 2016–2017 who intended to treat nasolabial folds with outpatient methods and rapid recovery time regardless of age and gender restrictions. Allogenic collagen was injected at the site of nasolabial folds and the durability of the fillers was evaluated by the researcher, the neutral examiner and the participants based on the wrinkle severity rating scale (WSRS) and the global aesthetic improvement scale (GAIS). In terms of severity of nasolabial folds before intervention, the mean and severe state comprised 37 (69.81%) and 16 (30.19%) patients, respectively. The majority of subjects (more than 80%) in both assessments (the examiner and the researcher) demonstrated the improvement of the folds. The agreement between the two evaluators was relatively approximate (K=0.73=0.73 and P<0.001<0.001). Regardless of the evaluation group, the trend of changes was statistically significant (P<0.001<0.001). Eventually, the duration of the filler efficacy was estimated to be 4–6 months. The allogenic collagen filler is recommended as an almost safe and cost-effective agent for nasolabial fold treatment in short to medium periods in case of low risk of the transmission of contamination and no need for allergic testing.