AMWC Poster - New clinical insights highlight the role of HA injectables in restoring facial volume and skin quality in patients undergoing medication‑driven weight loss

This real‑world work, spanning multiple countries and clinician experiences, demonstrates that tailored HA‑based multilayering approaches can address the hollowing, tissue depletion, and skin laxity commonly seen in patients using incretin‑based therapies.

Incretin‑based medications, including GLP‑1 receptor agonists and newer dual or triple agonists, have rapidly expanded in use for weight management. Their success in promoting weight loss has been accompanied by distinctive facial changes, particularly hollowing of the tear trough, temples, and midface, as well as reduced elasticity and weakened skin quality. These changes differ from age‑related volume loss and lead many patients of all ages to seek aesthetic interventions to restore balanced facial contours and overall quality of the skin.

This clinician‑led case series collected data from mdWL patients diagnosed with medication‑associated facial lipoatrophy who received, in a single treatment session with optional touch-up, a combination of HA‑based injectables targeting volume restoration and skin quality. Patients had a history of at least six months on incretin‑based therapies or were currently receiving them as maintenance treatment and presented moderate‑to‑severe midface volume deficiency using the Teoxane Midface Volume Deficit Scale (TMVDS). Injection strategies—including product selection, depth, and technique (such as MLT or MLT 3.1)—were left to injector discretion. Outcomes were recorded 3–4 weeks after treatment using global aesthetic assessments, validated indication‑specific scales, patient‑reported outcomes, and optional 3D volumetric or skin‑quality measurements.

 Rates and global aesthetic outcomes

•    Responder rates reached up to 100% across facial zones, based on indication‑specific aesthetic scales.

•    Validated scales demonstrated improvements across specific areas including midface volume, infraorbital hollows, nasolabial folds, temples, and skin elasticity.

Global aesthetic outcomes showed clinically relevant improvements, with immediate benefits visible on before‑and‑after imagery.

Patient‑reported experience and satisfaction

•    All patients reported that treatment outcomes met or exceeded their expectations.

•    93% were satisfied or very satisfied with their results.

•    Patients most frequently described their post‑treatment appearance as “plumped” (72.7%), “rejuvenated/younger” (72.7%), “healthier” (54.5%), and “refreshed” (54.5%).

Clinician‑reported treatment approaches

•    The Multilayering Technique (MLT) was the preferred approach for treating mdWL‑related changes, used in ~78% of patients.

•    Injected volumes ranged from 2.4 to 14.2 mL, with a mean of 7.7 mL, and were generally higher in patients with greater weight loss.

•    The most frequently injected products were RHA® 4 (100% of patients), RHA® 3 (55.6% of patients), and Ultra Deep (55.6% of patients).  

Safety and tolerability

•    No immediate adverse reactions were reported in the documented cases.

•    HA‑based injectables were well tolerated across all participating patients and anatomical zones.

These findings reported in the AMWC conference poster highlight the relevance of HA injectable treatments, combined to multilayering approaches for addressing the distinctive facial changes associated with medication‑driven weight loss. The results support HA‑based combinations as a reliable, versatile strategy for restoring facial volume, enhancing skin quality, and improving patient satisfaction across diverse patient profiles (Age range 29-66 yo).

Reference

Navid Alizadeh, Stephen Crimston, Paul Lorenc, Nasser Madi, Paola Molinari, Tarek Shalabi Injector‑led case series on HA injectables for facial volume restoration and skin quality improvement in medication‑driven weight loss. Poster presented at AMWC 2026; Monaco.