New-fill used to treat lipoatropy in feet

Fat loss (lipoatrophy) has been widely reported from the face, arms, legs and buttocks. Swtiching from d4T or AZT to either abacavir or tenofovir can lead to slow return of fat in the arms and legs but not in the face. Facial fat loss can be corrected by New-Fill. No treatments has been researched or approved for loss of buttock fat.

The lipoatrophy clinic at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital has already used polylactic acid (New-fill, Scultptra) treated hundreds of patients on the NHS to correct facial fat loss.

A poster at BHIVA reported the use of New-fill to help seven people who had also lost fat from the soles of their feet. Fat loss was significant enough to make walking painful and difficult, which New-fill helped by generating a cushion of new collagen growth. Each patient received three courses of injections, each two weeks apart.

Patient assessed impact on pain, distress and mobility significantly improved at week 8 (p=0.002). Skin and sub-cutaneous tissue thickness significantly increased by the same time point (p=0.005 and p=0.04, respectively).

This is the first time New-fill treatment for metatarsal fat pad lipoatrophy has been reported and is an example of leading UK clinical practice.

Kavouni A et al. Treatment of metatarsal fat pad lipoatrophy with volumising injections. Poster abstract P94.