Santa Barbara Radiesse doctors

Radiesse is a great product that gives very reliable and consistent results, but just like anything else, it has its strengths and weaknesses.

Like any filler, you can get lumps, but it seems like in the lips it tends to cause lumps more than Juvederm or Restylane, so it is usually not used in the lips. The tear troughs under the eyes may not be the greatest place for Radiesse either, because of the thin tissue.

It works great on nasolabial folds, marionette lines, cheeks, even hands. I have had a couple patients with persistent lumps in the nasolabial fold that responded to steroid injection.

You ask a very important question about the use of Radiesse in the lips for lip enhancement.

While some doctors advocate the use of Radiesse in the face, this product, calcium hydroxylapatite, is a chemical that once injected turns into a white, bony-appearing substance that hardens somewhat. In fact, calcium is a major component of bone.

Radiesse should not be used in the lips ever. The manufacturer of Radiesse, Bioform, strictly advises against using this product in the lips. Unfortunately, there are doctors out there who will ignore this warning and will do it anyway. In fact, we have seen patients in our practice who have had Radiesse used in their lips and they ended up with large, hard, marble-sized lumps on the upper and lower lip. One young woman who we saw was extremely depressed because her lips had been badly disfigured with Radiesse.

Some cosmetic surgeons have reported some success using steroids injected into these Radiesse lumps, but ultimately, in our experience, surgical excision is the only way to get these out. And even with surgery, you cannot ever get it all out and surgery can leave scars.

It's better not to allow anyone to inject Radiesse into your lips in the first place than risk having to undergo surgery to remove a bad result.

There are a number of safe and effective injectable products in use that, while off-label, do work well in the lips. You mention Juvederm and Restylane, which are both hyaluronic acids and quite safe, as well as bovine collagen, Cosmoderm, Cosmoplast, Zyderm and Zyplast, all safe and good products, which when used by a well-trained and highly experienced physician injector, can last quite some time and provide a very natural result.

Remember: the manufacturer of Radiesse has warned against using this product in the lips with good reason. If it could be used safely in the lips, they would like nothing better. Radiesse should never be used in the lips!!!