Radiesse Should NEVER Be Used in the Lips!

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!!!

Radiesse has an excellent safety profile and in many cases, such as the nasolabial folds, I believe that it is a superior product, per unit volume, to Juvederm and Restylane.  However, the theoretic and physical properties of Radiesse as a stimulatory and facial filler prohibit its use in the lips. 

The most effective facial filler for the lips that is available in the United States at this time is Juvederm. It has an excellent safety profile and the results are outstanding in the finely detailed anatomic subunits of the lips.

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Thanks for the question.  The maker of Radiesse, Bioform Medical Inc., strictly warns against the use of the product in the lips.  There is a correlation between its use and the development of inflammatory nodules in the lips, which could lead to permanent deformation of the lips.  In the United States, Radiesse is approved for the following:

• Correction of nasolabial folds
• HIV-associated facial lipodystrophy
• Maxillofacial augmentation
• Radiographic tissue marking
• Vocal cord insufficiency

Hope this helped. Best of luck!