The use of hyaluronic acid and polymethylmethacrylate in the skin aging process in a comparative analysis (the advantages, disadvantages and adverse effects of each filler)

Abstract

The dermal fillers are currently a modality of treatment widely sought by those who seek for alternatives to plastic surgery, to delay the signs of aging. These procedures are minimally invasive, capable of attenuating wrinkles and restoring satisfactorily facial volume, although it is imminent the possibility of finding intercurrences related to the use of these materials. The present study aimed to do a bibliographical review regarding two of the dermal fillers frequently used in aesthetic medicine, namely hyaluronic acid and polymethylmethacrylate, respectively classified as biodegradable and non-biodegradable implant materials. Thus, given the particularities of the mentioned products, their general characteristics were described, as well as the comparison and discussion on the framing of these implant materials with regard to: the characteristics considered as ideal in a filler, the annual statistics related to the number of procedures, the number of complications caused by hyaluronic acid and polymethylmethacrylate according to observational clinical studies and the types of adverse effects inherent to the use of each filler studied. According to the developed bibliographical study, it was possible to verify comparatively that although there is no filler that meets all the characteristics considered as ideal, the hyaluronic acid is currently the first choice among implant materials because it presents fewer complications, which can be reversed, unlike polymethylmethacrylate, which is neither a biocompatible nor an absorbable polymer, making it difficult and/or impossible to reverse the complications.