Safety and tolerability of deoxycholic acid injections in head and neck areas

Background: DC is used as an injectable drug to reduce unwanted localized adiposity thanks to its adipocitolitic activity. Aim: The aim of our study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of deoxycholic acid injections in the head and neck areas. Methods: Between January 2010 and January 2020 all the patients were retrospectively treated with DC injections in head and neck area and evaluated. The study population consisted of 46 patients; treated areas were neck/submental fat, buffalo hump deformity, pre-jaw line, lower eyelid, medial cheek and malar fat pad. Session treatments were spaced from a minimum of 3 months, up to 14 months, based on the patient’s needs due to the post-operative swelling. Results: Following DC injections all the patients experienced swelling and redness in the injected areas for at least 14 days. No major complications such as skin necrosis, beard loss, mandibular marginal nerve paresis, or others were recorded. Conclusion: DC injections in the head and neck region look like they could address submental full-ness, buffalo hump deformity, although other areas such as lower eyelid, the pre-jaw line and the cheek can be treated. If properly injected, major complications can be avoided, although the proce-dure should be clearly explained to the patients due to the development of swelling and redness of the injected areas that are difficult to hide compared to DC injections when used for the body.