Safety and length of benefit of restylane for office-based injection medialization-a retrospective review of one institution's experience

Objects. Restylane is a relatively new material being used for temporary vocal fold medialization. Few studies have evaluated the safety, complication rate, and length of benefit derived from Restylane injection medialization. We report on 64 patients who underwent office-based injection medialization with Restylane to establish the safety of and length of benefit from this material. Study Design. Retrospective review. Methods. Retrospective review of patients who underwent office-based injection medialization with Restylane during a 2-year period was performed. Results. Eighty-two injections in 64 patients were reviewed. Five total adverse events occurred (3.88%). The average length of benefit from injection medialization with Restylane was 12.2 weeks. No inflammatory or hypersensitivity reactions to Restylane occurred. A trend toward avoidance of permanent medialization was observed in patients injected <6 months from time of injury compared with patients injected >6 months after (P = 0.0511). Conclusion. Restylane is a safe and effective temporary material for office-based injection medialization with an average length of benefit of 12.2 weeks. This represents the largest series to date using Restylane and no hypersensitivity or granulomatous reactions were observed. Our data showed a trend toward avoidance of permanent medialization in patients who were injected <6 months after nerve injury, which supports the findings of others.