A novel dermal filler containing polycaprolactone (PCL) has been introduced into the aesthetic market. A recently published study has shown that the PCL-based dermal filler induces neocollagenesis, a process associated with improvement in appearance of the skin, in rabbit tissue. In this pilot study, we investigated whether the PCL-based dermal filler induces neocollagenesis in human tissue by histological analysis. Two patients who were enrolled in the study, and were willing to undergo temple lifting surgery, were injected intra-dermally with the PCL-based dermal filler. Thirteen months post-injection, biopsies were obtained for subsequent histological analysis. Histological analysis of tissue obtained from the biopsies (13 months post-injection) revealed that the PCL-based dermal filler shows collagen formation around the PCL particles and, therefore, supports similar findings previously shown in rabbit tissue. In conclusion, PCL particles are maintained in their original state 13 months post-injection.
Keywords: PCL; neocollagenesis; polycaprolactone; tissue augmentation.