Abstract
Background
Aspiration testing before filler injection is controversial. Some believe that aspiration can help prevent inadvertent intravascular injection, while others cite false-negative results and question its value given that the needle position always changes somewhat during injection procedures.
Objectives
To test the relation of false-negative results to the viscosity of the material within the needle lumen and determine whether a less viscous material within the needle lumen could decrease the incidence of false-negative results.
Methods
In vitro aspiration tests were performed using 30-G and 27-G needle gauges, two cross-linked hyaluronic acid fillers, normal saline bags pressurized at 140 and 10 mmHg to mimic human arterial and venous pressures, and three needle lumen conditions (normal saline, air, and filler). Testing was repeated three times under each study condition (72 tests in total). For in vivo correlation, aspiration tests were performed on femoral arteries and central auricular veins in three rabbits (4–5 aspirations per site, 48 tests in total).
Results
In vitro and in vivo testing using 30-G needles containing filler both showed false-negative results on aspiration testing. In vitro and in vivo testing using needles containing saline or air showed positive findings.
Conclusions
False-negative results from aspiration testing may be reduced by pre-filling the needle lumen with saline rather than a filler. The pressurized system may help overcome challenges of animal models with intravascular pressures significantly different from those of humans. The adaptability of this system to mimic various vessel pressures may facilitate physiologically relevant studies of vascular complications.
In Vivo Testing of a Novel Adjustable Glaucoma Drainage Device