Immediate versus Delayed Surgical Intervention for Reconstructive Therapy of HIV-Associated Facial Lipoatrophy: A Randomized Open-Label Study

We assessed the safety and efficacy of reconstructive therapy with facial fillers for the treatment of HIV-associated facial lipoatrophy (FLA) through a randomized, controlled, open-label single-center study. A total of 134 HIV-infected patients with severe FLA were randomly assigned to receive immediate (67 patients) or delayed (67 patients) facial injections of poly-l-lactic acid (PLA) or polyacrylamide gel (PAIG). Outcome measures included changes in physician and patient FLA severity scale, adverse events, and changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and anxiety using validated measures. The mean average study follow-up was 27 weeks for the immediate and 25 weeks for the delayed subjects. Adverse events were mild and resolved after a mean of 4 days. Compared to patients randomized to the delayed treatment group, patients assigned to the immediate treatment group had significantly lower physician-rated (0.0 versus -3.0; p < 0.0001) and patient-rated (0.1 versus -1.8; p < 0.0001) FLA severity scores. By contrast, measures exploring HRQoL and anxiety did not show any significant difference between patients randomized to the immediate and deferred groups. Reconstructive therapy with facial fillers was effective and safe and led to significant improvements in FLA severity. However, no significant gains in HRQoL, relational and psychological consequences of body changes, and anxiety-related concerns were observed. Studies should be performed to identify patients who could maximally benefit from filling interventions for FLA.