A study published online in the Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine (January 8, 2021) revealed that patients with cosmetic fillers all showed signs of subclinical inflammation of the glands.
Ximena Wortsman, MD, et al, performed a prospective and cross sectional ultrasound study of the lacrimal, parotid and submandibular glands of 63 patients who had cosmetic fillers and 10 who did not (control). The fillers used included hyaluronic acid, silicone oil, polymethylmethacrylate, polycaprolactone, calcium hydroxyapatite and polyacrylamide.
They found abnormalities of the echostructure of the parenchyma and hypervascularity of the glands with all kinds of fillers without significant differences per type. Parotid and submandibular glands had the highest percentage of parenchymal involvement: 87.3 and 88.9%, respectively.
As a result of their findings the researchers urged further research into the possible connection between filler use and inflammation of the lacrimal, parotid and submandibular glands.
