Mesotherapy: Safety profile and management of complications

Abstract Background Mesotherapy is a procedure that involves the injection of active substances into the dermis and subcutaneous tissue in order to treat several local medical and cosmetic conditions. Despite being considered as a relatively safe method, a series of adverse reactions can occur due to its wide application and lack of standardization processes. Objectives The aim of this paper is to summarize all the mesotherapy‐related complications published so far, and to provide an insight into their management. Patient/Methods Articles derived from the databases, PubMed, EMBASE, and SCOPUS, and published between 1992 and 2018, were analyzed for this review. The study was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. Results In this literature, there is a number of case series and isolated case reports describing various side effects of different severities. The therapeutic management of these complications is—in most cases—individualized. Conclusions Larger systematic studies are needed in order to adequately evaluate the safety profile of mesotherapy, and in order to determine standardized therapy parameters, so as to minimize the risk of potential adverse reactions.