A year after launch of its innovative injection delivery system ‘Bi-SOFT® Injection Technology’ in the Medical Aesthetics market, Laboratoires VIVACY (France) introduces a new version of its hyaluronic acid-based injectable volumiser STYLAGE® XXL with a different amide-type of local anaesthetic, mepivacaine 

OVER THE PAST FEW years, patients’ aesthetic concerns for age-related facial volume loss have considerably increased1.

Wrinkles aren’t the only consequences of facial ageing. In the fullness of time, the face endures functional and anatomical modifications due to subcutaneous fat loss. Deep folds can then appear, potentially giving a sad and tired look to the face. Moreover, the decrease of skin’s mechanical support leads to an overall collapse of volumes. For instance, the facial contour may appear less defined2.

Taking this into account, the Laboratoires VIVACY has therefore adopted a more comprehensive global approach to the ageing of the face and focused on the development of specific hyaluronic acid-based dermal fillers, also known as ‘volumisers’. 

Redefining facial beauty with the right volumiser

The IPN-Like Technology, developed and patented in 20083 by the Laboratoires VIVACY involves the interpenetration of two cross-linked monophasic hyaluronic acid (HA) networks. The crosslinking stage aims to stabilise the HA so as to increase the product’s duration once it has been injected. This technology also allows to precisely define each product’s viscoelastic properties3.

The hypodermis is mainly composed of adipocytes. These large-sized cells are weakly bonded to one another and are separated by a thin layer of extracellular matrix4. Taking these important histological particularities into account, the Laboratoires VIVACY developed STYLAGE® XXL. Its high viscosity is well adapted to the fat layers.

STYLAGE® XXL is specially designed for facial volume restoration and/or creation and its injection is performed in subcutaneous fat.

In order to improve patients’ comfort during the procedure, VIVACY introduced a new local anaesthetic mepivacaine into the STYLAGE® XXL formulation.

An innovative and patented formulation5

Mepivacaine is a local anaesthetic which belongs to the same family as lidocaine6,7. Synthesised in 1957 and commercialised in France since 1964, it is mainly used in odontology and is known to induce less vasodilation than lidocaine8. 

It has been incorporated into STYLAGE® XXL to provide additional comfort to patients during the injection procedure and post-treatment massage.

As an anaesthetic, Mepivacaine is similar to lidocaine in terms of safety and efficiency. Both of them are also comparable for their onset of action (less than 5 minutes), as well as for their efficiency period (about an hour and a half)7.

The pharmacodynamic features (the way it affects the body) and efficiency of these two molecules are on the whole comparable according to the clinical study performed by VIVACY10. Moreover, it has been reported in literature that mepivacaine does not induce the vasodilatory effects of lidocaine9. In addition, a study of 23 healthy volunteers who received mepivacaine by intradermal injection highlighted a vasoconstrictor effect with concentrations less than and equal to 0.3%9. 

A demonstrated efficiency10 

One of the Laboratoires VIVACY’s goals has always been to provide physicians with a complete range of products performing identically with or without anaesthetic.

As a consequence, the Laboratoires VIVACY has conducted a clinical study to demonstrate equivalence of lidocaine and mepivacaine. It has shown that the products containing mepivacaine are as effective as the products with lidocaine in terms of: 

  • Reduction of pain associated with injections. 
  • Wrinkle filling. 

To find out more visit www.vivacy.eu
Meet the Laboratoires VIVACY at AMWC 2019, booth n°L2