Juvederm before & after photos
65%
697 reviews
Worth It Rating Our index shows the percentage of community members saying this was "Worth it". See cosmetic treatment rankings
Juvederm Cost $800 average cost

Trenches and Pockets in Cheek After Juvederm Ultra Plus

17 posts
Comments (13)
Updated 6 Oct 2009
Posted 10 Sep 2009
Not Worth It
Spent: $1,300 in Bala Cynwyd, PA

I'm36 and had treatment for "lipo-deficient" cheeks with Juvederm Ultra Plus a week ago. About 1.5 vials in one side and .5 in the other, to make appearance even.

I would say the results were fair except I still swelling in one "pocket" next to left side of mouth (looks like I have something stored there or that skin was grafted on).

Bigger issues are it looks like I have 2 divets in one cheek (and awful brown needle marks still there). That was the cheek that had 1.5 vials. There's a trench-like depression about a pinky wide on my other side. That had half a vial.

I've been hiding my cheeks, which I had no marks or issues with before treatment. Is this common for it to come out so unevenly? Are 2 treatments necessary, or is this stuff always so unpredictable and uneven? I look terrible right now.

Has anyone had this experience the first fill and was it able to be blended when you went back? I had juvederm ultra plus injected in the hollows of my cheeks about a month ago and a trench refilled 2 weeks ago with Restylane (that was the PS decision). Yesterday my entire face swelled up again completely and it won't go down. Is this a delayed allergic response?

This review is the subjective opinion of a RealSelf member and not of RealSelf, Inc.

My Doctor: Name not provided

No way unless he can fix the mess.
Vote: 5 members found this review helpful

Comments (13)

Post a Comment
Sort:
tried but failed (804 posts) 15 Sep 2009
Hi Hope - don't panic just yet! Some of what you are seeing is still swelling. Juvederm takes a couple of weeks at least to 'settle in' and blend with your skin. Further it is a 'water finder' and attracts/absorbs fluid in your natural tissue. This can create some bizarre results at the start. I would strongly recommend AGAINST having it dissolved with hyaluronidase (that comes with its own problems) until you are sure that you are looking at the final result and not swelling or settling. It honestly may take a few weeks for you to truly see how it is going to look. In my experience, Juvederm often feels 'hard' or 'firm' under the skin for a while (which could be creating the appearance of hills and valleys for you) and then it softens out and settles. I had major issues with hyaluronidase, mainly because it was put under my eyes. I am not sure whether it creates the same hypersensitivity reaction (massive swelling) if put in the cheeks or other areas of the face that are not so sensitive as the under eye area. If you are going to have it dissolved then find someone VERY experienced with hyaluronidase because a lot of your natural tissue is made up of hyaluronic acid (like juvederm) and you do not want to risk dissolving any of your natural tissue because you will be worse off than when you started before the juvederm. Trust me that you should wait for at least a couple more weeks. I was WAY TOO HASTY with 'corrections' and just ended up creating more and more problems. (Pity someone in the medical profession didn't suggest that I just wait it out!) My current botox disaster was the absolute end. It is irreversible by anything but time and it has forced me to be patient and wait it out. You should also take heart that it is way more noticeable to you than it is to anyone else. Keep photographing so you retain an objective perspective about what is happening to your face. Make an appointment with your doctor in two weeks' time so you have a specific date for review. In answer to your question about hyaluronidase swelling, the swelling under my eyes went away after about 6 weeks, but I still have puffiness under my eyes from the botox disaster so it is a little hard to tell. Keep us updated about your progress. Cheers
Hopeitgoesaway (17 posts) 15 Sep 2009
Thank you for your email TBF. Im sorry about everything you've gone through. I've had a botox issue in the not too distant past too. The swelling left bags and some real dark circles for months. But at least I could wear glasses to conceal things when was my eyes, unlike holey cheeks. No issues with Botox since then, and Ive had a few times, knock on wood. So I had the "hole" filled today by my PS and he put Restylane in it I guess because he was giving it to me for free and it comes in a smaller vial. I heard its lumpier, but I have a lumpy other cheek with Juverderm UltraPlus, so I cant say that product is much better. Very badly bruised, but I think after it goes down it will have helped. Swelling in general the past 2 weeks has not subsided and my face is dull with a spongey, tacky feeling so it makes sense what you wrote about Juvederm attracting water. I think its attracted every water molecule in my body. The mornings are the scariest - I dread seeing my face. I try to sleep upright, but then I don't sleep and look exhausted AND swollen. I yearn for my pre-filler tight, shiny skin. Why do we women do this to ourselves when we are fine naturally?
tried but failed (804 posts) 16 Sep 2009
Hi again Hope! I have noticed from various posts that a common theme seems to emerge. Lots of those travelling down the filler/botox road seem to be women who naturally look young for their age and want to keep looking that way or feel some pressure to do so. Last year when I was 35 I looked 28-30. After my series of disasters with restylane, hyaluronidase and botox, I am look much, much older and I am only 36. It is ridiculous. I wish I had never touched a thing on my face and just spent my hard-earned money on sensible skin care products and long holidays! Keep us updated with how your current filler situation is progressing, particularly the swelling. Putting a water-finder like juvederm or restylane into an area already swollen by a hyaluronidase reaction could mean that the swollen appearance will last a little longer than normal because the product is 'finding' the swelling as well as the fluid that would normally be in your skin. Regarding sleeping upright, I tried that too and got no sleep! Then I did a comparison by sleeping on a normal pillow on a Friday night and upright on a Saturday night. There was no real difference between the puffiness/swelling on Saturday and Sunday morning. In the end I decided it was better to get a good sleep and just went back to a normal pillow. Like botox, juvederm/restylane are not permanent and will go away. Hang in there. Cheers
Jane A (9 posts) 17 Sep 2009
Hi How long until you started to notice the fillers going away? I just had some awful Juvederm put into my cheeks 3 weeks ago. I look like a cat with chipmunk cheeks when I smile. I've got a wedding to attend in 2 months. I'm hoping it will be a bit more settled by then.
tried but failed (804 posts) 17 Sep 2009
Hiya Hope - Where did you have the botox and how much? I think it is inadvisable to have filler and botox at the same time because if you don't like the overall result it is very hard to tell exactly what you don't like and (more importantly) what caused it. Could your 'trenches and pouches' be botox-related more then juvederm/restylane-related or perhaps caused in part by both? Possibly! Botox may also be contributing to the spongy feeling to your skin. It is very, very hard to tell exactly what went wrong when filler and botox are done concurrently. If your face has 'dropped' a bit from botox in crows feet area (cheek ptosis) then it could be causing some of the effect you don't like. Chloerose calls cheek ptosis the 'dented apple' because of the weird indentations, bunching effect, loose skin and shadows that cheek ptosis can create on the sides of the face, particularly on smiling or otherwise animating the face. Before you chase your perceived filler problem with hyaluronidase, you might want to consider that at least some of the effect might be caused by botox. It is just a thought and I might be completely wrong. However, I once had juvederm in my tear troughs at the same time as botox in my bunny lines/crows feet and ended up with 'divots' on either side of my nose when I smiled. I originally attributed this to the juvederm but now know it was caused by botox. I know the waiting is really hard but keep writing here instead of going to doctors to have more stuff done! Keep us updated as to how it is all going. Cheers.
tried but failed (804 posts) 21 Sep 2009
Any improvement?
Hopeitgoesaway (17 posts) 23 Sep 2009
Not much. The swelling and bruising has gone down and the trench is now a ding, but I'll take it. No more fillers. Ever. Unfortunately I now have a fold running down my right cheek from my NF to the bottom corner of my mouth. Its hideous. I its becausehe had put some Restylane in one of my smile lines at my cheek and its pushing the whole area forward and up when my lips are closed. Awful. Just awful. I may try to see if he can dissolve the lump, but scared he will dissove everything in my cheek since its half inch or so away.
aabob (29 posts) 1 Oct 2009
I wish we could do to our "doctors" what they did to us and see if they like it. If your doctor doesn't fix it, post his name on this site.
Hopeitgoesaway (17 posts) 9 Dec 2009
Update at about 4 months... The swelling from juvederm/resylane has never resolved. Just swollen, mushy spongey face most days. The worst part is it has given me gigantic trench bags under my eyes - I look easily 5-10 years older now. No amount of concealer covers this. I had dark circles before, but now I have actual folds in the skin that some days are horrifying, most days just depressing. If anyone is thinking of getting these fillers in their cheeks, unless you ABSOLUTELY need it, it is NOT worth the swelling, changes to your skin, bags, and extra wrinkles where you didnt have them before. I'm sure I will have to deal with this for at least a year, and I hope it hasnt permanently ruined my face. Stick with the lips if you have to, but personally I would stay away from this stuff completely.
Hopeitgoesaway (17 posts) 9 Dec 2009
Oh, and not to mention the dings and divets in my face from either not enough filler in the right places or the filler not blending correctly. So I got that going for me now too, along with the broken capillaries from where I was injected. Fun stuff.
Linman (1 post) 1 Jan 2010
I had my first Juvederm injections on Dec 15. The "doctor" said that some swelling and bruising my appear. That would be the extent of the "side effects". I can feel the filler which remains hard and my cheeks are still quite sore. I am scheduled to leave for a vacation on the 18th and thought I would check out my snorkel mask and diving gear. Can't wear my mask; too painful. I hesitated for several months about this procedure. I should have done an exhausted research on the subject. Am going to try and get a refund (1300.) on my follow-up. Never Again!!!!
tried but failed (804 posts) 23 Dec 2009
The swelling, spongy feeling to your skin and the divots, loose skin etc sound very much like a botox disaster, not a filler disaster. Is it worse when your face moves?
Simba1234 (206 posts) 10 Feb 2010
Hi! I have the same problem as you after restylane injection in my cheeks. Same discloration and I am in my seven mouth now. How are you now? After this my skin is awful and sometimes I am very depressed. I hope this problem will leave me in time. This is the only thing I have used in my life. I have never used botox or smoething else so I know the filler is the problem here.

Post a Comment

Use of this website and the posting of any reviews or other content on this website constitutes acceptance of the RealSelf® Terms of Service. The material on this site is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider. © 2011 RealSelf, Inc. All rights reserved.