What Can I Do About Lumps from a PMMA Product Like Artefill or Artecoll?

Permanent fillers are bad. Period. They cannot be removed and long term, they can develop granulomas and infections. They also can emerge as you age like islands coming out of the ocean. I sincerely wish patients would get the message that these are bad products and ones to avoid. Yes, it is painful and costly to have to reinject temporary fillers, but this is the only safe way to go.

That being said, other than direct excision, I don't think you can remove the product and remember that micro-liposuction IS surgery just as is open removal and micro-liposuction can also cause scarring. This is a tough situation you have gotten into and there is no simple way out. Sorry.

PMMA is a permanent product that is extremely difficult to remove.  Liposuctioning will probably not be successful.  Yes, excision will leave scarring.  Tough decision to make. 

This is a very difficult problem and is probably due to the variability in particle size of precise.  Anything less than 80 microns can be gobbled up (phagocytized) by macrophages in your immune system.  So in this case, your body is attempting to attack and wall off the particles.  If it were my choice I would carefully use very dilute amounts of steroid injections over many months gradually with massage and hold off on procedures that can trade one problem for another.

Dr. Malouf

I am a trainer for Sculptra and consequently have been referred problem cases.

Problems outside of the lids and lips are very rare.  

These products should not be used in the lids because they are best under thicker skin and in a deeper level that does not exist in the eyes.

However, i have removed the material from the lids by just making a tiny slit in a wrinkle and working the firm material out.  It DOES NOT RESPOND TO LIPOSUCTION because it is too dense.  Injections with cortisone are also difficult because the area moves away from the needle and you may place the cortisone just where you do not want it - about and not into the area of thickening.

Dr. Mayl

Fort Lauderdale

First of all, to everyone reading this, don't have a permanent filler placed under the eyes. They have never been recommended for this area, for good reason!
Unfortunately, most people do far less self-education on cosmetic treatments before they get them than after.

Second, stay at home for your cosmetic treatments and choose Board Certified Dermatologists or Board Certified Plastic Surgeons for cosmetic treatments. The FDA assures that rigorous testing is done in clinical studies with dermal fillers before they are approved. This is not a certainty in other countries which have a different (or no) system of physician qualification, training or product safety rules and testing.

ArteFill is not the same as Precise (Percise) or Artecoll or other permanent fillers found outside the U.S. ArteFill was re-engineered from Artecoll (used in Europe) to lessen the problem potential of granulomas. ArteFill contains a low percentage of polymethylmethacrylate beads -- 20% PMMA. The rest is collagen which breaks down and is removed by the body. ArteFill requires an allergy test (another safety factor).

I will not use ArteFill (Artefill is the only FDA approved noresorbable filler at this time) in any area other than that indicated in the FDA approval. Nor will I inject ArteFill before a patient has used a temporary filler first to gauge satisfaction with the correction they receive.

Any filler product can produce late stage reactions, but the chances are extremely low with temporary fillers like Juvederm, Restylane or a low concentration HA like Prevelle Silk. The more permanent the product, the more potential to small lumps or bumps.

Regarding the filler you received in Mexico:

There was no specific component information that I could find on Percise other than it is PMMA suspended in a saline hydrogel...and there was no information on percentages indicating the ratio of the PMMA to the carrier.

Now, to answer your question about removing a granuloma under your eye.

PMMA is a permanent particulate implant. It is meant for deeper injection in the nasolabial folds, not under the eyes, not in the lips and not in other areas of the face. Your problem will likely be most acceptably addressed with surgery - and I'd recommend you only go to a reconstructive plastic surgeon or an oculoplastic surgeon who will have the skills to minimize any scarring.

Web reference: http://totaldermatology.com/pages/artefill.htm