Guidance Issued for COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects in Dermal Filler Patients

The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS) has released a guidance regarding COVID-19 vaccine side effects in dermal filler patients, titled “Guidance Regarding SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccine Side Effects in Dermal Filler Patients.”¹

The guidance provides data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on reactions from the mRNA vaccine and shares insight for practitioners and patients in relation to the occurrence of reactions based on the latest data available.

“Patient safety is foremost in the practice of dermatology and board certified dermatologists take adverse effects seriously,” says Mathew Avram, MD, JD, ASDS president. “Although still very early in the vaccination process, this guidance is meant to be informational and helpful as we move forward during pandemic recovery efforts.”

In the guidance, FDA data reports show three participants out of 15,184 who received at least one dose of Moderna’s mRNA-1273 vaccine have developed lip for facial swelling in areas of dermal filler placement, while no participants in the placebo group experienced any filler-related adverse events.

Current ASDS guidance² regarding dermal fillers and the vaccine are as follows:

• Dermal filler inflammatory events very seldom occur with both hyaluronic acid and non-hyaluronic acid fillers.
• Evidence suggests these reactions can be immunologically triggered by viral and bacterial illness, vaccinations (i.e., influenza vaccine) and dental procedures.
• These rare adverse events are temporary and respond to treatments such as oral corticosteroids and hyaluronidase, and often times resolve without treatment.
• Patients already treated with dermal fillers should not be discouraged or precluded from receiving vaccines of any kind. Patients who have had vaccines should not be precluded from receiving dermal fillers in the future.
• In the Moderna mRNA-1273 trial, three reactions were possibly related to dermal fillers out of 15,184 vaccine recipients. It is unknown how many subjects in the trial had previous treatment with dermal fillers.
• ASDS members should obtain a pertinent medical history on all patients.
• Dermal fillers should be administered by board-certified physicians who are experts in both the injection of dermal fillers and management of complications arising from them.

In addition to this guidance, members of the Soft-tissue Fillers Guideline Task also plan on publishing a multispecialty clinical guideline on the prevention and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine-related adverse events from soft tissue fillers.

More information on the guidance from ASDS can be found here.

References:

1. ASDS Provides Guidance Regarding SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccine Side Effects. (2020, December 28). Retrieved January 07, 2021, from https://www.prweb.com/releases/asds_provides_guidance_regarding_sars_cov_2_mrna_vaccine_side_effects_in_dermal_filler_patients/prweb17636524.htm

Avram, M., Bertucci, V., Cox, S., Jones, D., & Mariwalla, K. (2020, December 28). Guidance 2. Regarding SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccine Side Effects in Dermal Filler Patients. Retrieved January 07, 2021, from https://www.asds.net/Portals/0/PDF/secure/ASDS-SARS-CoV-2-Vaccine-Guidance.pdf