A Pilot Study Examining the Efficacy of Hyaluronic Acid Filler to Correct Volume Loss in the Dorsal Fingers

Fingers are a part of the body that are often subject to increased signs of aging due to physical use, trauma and exposure to the environment. The FDA's recent approval of a dermal filler, calcium hydroxylapatite, in hands has led to increased patient demand for hand fillers which, in turn, has led to the question of rejuvenation of the dorsal fingers. Due to the different anatomy of the fingers than the dorsal hand plus the new demand to improve the entire hand plus the finger area, we aim to characterize the best approach. Youthful fingers are devoid of wrinkles and often have fuller contours thus hiding the "knuckles" (proximal and distal interphalangeal joints). With aging and loss of subcutaneous tissue volume, fingers become wrinkled, look more skeletal, almost emaciated, and joints become much more prominent, all aesthetic features often disliked by patients. By augmenting the volume in the dorsal fingers, it is possible that the visibility of such bony structures will be decreased, wrinkles will become smoother, and a more youthful appearance of the fingers will be restored. There have been no published reports, to these investigators' knowledge, of the use of injectable filler into the dorsal fingers for three-dimensional volume correction. The use of exogenous hyaluronic acid (HA) filler in the fingers would be off-label. Given that HA filler has been used safely and effectively in many areas of three-dimensional volume restoration throughout the body, the investigators believe the HA filler may be used to effectively and safely correct volume loss in the fingers. The investigators hope that this study will present current, state of the art, never before reported technique, safety, efficacy and patient satisfaction of HA filler in this region.