It may be that you didn't get Restylane, but another, more dangerous filler

Joel Schlessinger, MD answers: What to do when Restylane won't dissolve?

I had Restylane injected under my eye area a year and a half ago. It has not dissolved on its own.

It seems to have caused some extreme heaviness in my cheek area that has cause my mouth to look like its pointing downward. The left cheek is much bigger and both sides look different. Also, when I smile the cheek pushes up so high into the eye area and causes so many lines under my eyes it looks terrible.

Can I use something to remove it?


Joel Schlessinger, MD
12 months ago

Restylane is a great product in that it is very easily dissolved if it is not doing what you want it to do, but my concern is that you didn't receive the real thing.  There are many other fillers out there, some of which are very scary as they don't go away after 6 to 12 months and can even be permanent and cause permanent scarring.

The most concerning of these fillers is silicone, but there are others like Radiesse, Sculptra and Artefill that may be what was used here.  I agree with the other doctors that you probably won't benefit by surgery and may end up worse.  While hyaluronidase is an option, with this being close to the eye that may be a problem.

This case shows the utmost importance of choosing your surgeon wisely.  There are many people who are getting into this field that have little or no experience or qualifications and many who have a good name but farm their fillers and botox out to nurses or PAs/NPs.  So be careful in the future and good luck with this issue.

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