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Dysphagia was reported in one deoxycholic acid–treated patient with extreme SMF and resolved without sequelae after 2 days.
None of the events precluded patients from receiving additional treatment, even within the 30-day interval, he said, adding that in practice most clinicians are using longer breaks between treatments.
During a discussion of the study, Dr. Glogau said he uses lidocaine to reduce pain and that local anesthesia should be standard with deoxycholic acid injections.
Fellow presenter Dr. Brian Biesman, director of the Nashville (Tenn.) Centre for Laser and Facial Surgery, said that he was injected with deoxycholic acid both with and without local anesthesia and that they’ve used local anesthesia ever since.
“It makes a huge difference from a patient experience standpoint, of being extraordinarily unpleasant without it – and I have a pretty good pain tolerance – to being extraordinarily unremarkable,” Dr. Biesman said.
Session moderator Dr. Wendy Roberts of Dermatology Rancho Mirage (Calif.), said that Dr. Glogau’s study provides clinicians with data to support deoxycholic acid use in a broader range of patients.
“Now we have a real resource that we can reference and say as a matter of fact, for mild submental fullness you will get a result and this is the study. So you’re not wasting your money, you’re not wasting your time,” she said in an interview. “I think it’s extremely important. In Southern California where I practice, people don’t want to get to be moderate to severe.”
The oral abstract session included several other deoxycholic acid presentations including long-term follow-up from phase II/III trials showing that improvements in SMF severity are maintained for up to 4 years after treatment. The improvements were due to deoxycholic acid treatment, as body weight did not significantly change throughout the follow-up period, said study author Dr. Ashish Bhatia of the DuPage Medical Group, in Naperville, Ill.
Dr. Kenneth Beer of Palm Beach (Fla.) Cosmetic, provided details on the ongoing Kythera-sponsored CONTOUR: Condition of Submental Fullness and Treatment Outcomes Registry study looking at how SMF is treated in clinical practice and the risks and benefits associated with treatment.
Kythera Biopharmaceuticals markets Kybella, which is also known as ATX-101. Dr. Glogau, Dr. Roberts, Dr. Bhatia, and Dr. Beer reported ties to Kythera. Several coauthors also disclosed ties to the company.
