“Artefill Artecoll Lumps”

Are your sure you actually received Artefill? $300 is suspiciously inexpensive since the smallest syringe that Artes Medical sold was a 0.4cc syringe for $300. That's $300 that the *doctor* paid for it. And typically 0.4cc would barely treat part of one side of the nasolabial folds. If you truly paid for Artefill and only paid $300, you didn't get the real thing.

Artecoll is not FDA approved. If you received Artecoll injections by someone in the United States (I see you're in Miami), then you need to report that person to the state medical board and/or the state attorney general's office. It's quite illegal to use Artecoll on U.S. soil and you've been the victim of a crime. Was it even a real doctor who treated you? As for getting rid of it, yes, excision is the only way to remove the product. This isn't always necessary, though, to improve the appearance of it. --DCP

I have the same problem. I did it in China 2 years ago. It was at my lower eyelid area. Is there a safe way to resolve it? I dont really need to remove it. Just want to make my lower eyelid looks flat.(It's puffy now). Is it possible to inject artefill to fill the gaps? I can send you pictures if that'll be better. I'm in LA area. Any recommendations on doctors/plastic surgery places? Thanks so much.

I had fat and artefill injected in my bottom lip at different times. I have a noticeable lump and would love to get rid of it. My cosmetic surgeon did some injections to melt the fat, but the lump remains, so it must be the Artefill. I have read the above posts...is there anything that will disolve it or is surgery the only option?

Hi, The lump is the result of overfilling. I had the ArteFill done on March 1st, and the raised area was there immediatley. I even said to the nurse --am I going to have a lump here now. It is on the left side of my chin area -- just under the lip to bottom of chin. When I look in the mirror from a side view you can see a small lump. I can also see it from the front view. It sort of looks like when you have water under the skin and it raises the area. I spoke with someone at the Ricatta Laser Center and they said they have seen this before and they usually use injections about two weeks spaced apart to resolve the issue. Another doctor who also uses this product said that if I massaged the area everyday that it could flatten out. I have been doing this and really don't see any improvement. I am going to have the nurse who injected ArteFill call the laser center and talk to the person who has seen these problems on how to resolve it.

Hi, I've been working on finding a resolution for my Artecoll/Artefill lumps (nodules) for over two years. My last series of PMMA injections took place in March 2007 with my first lump appearing approx one year later. Over the course of the last 2 years, I have developed multiple nodules with new ones appearing on a regular basis. So far they have been controllable with regular (monthly) shots of a cortisone/ 5FU combination; very important that you find a doctor that understands how to use this combo so the cortisone portion is relatively low helping to avoid skin atrophy. I learned the hard way how much damage high dose cortisone can do to your skin which added to this lengthy process. I am also on high dose Doxycycline to try and knockout any possible bacteria which could be contributing to the chronic flare-ups. I have seen many doctors about this issue, several in the US, one in Canada and also asked for advice from the inventor of Artecoll (Dr Lemperle). They have all been helpful but understanding exactly what causes the flare-ups and why they occur so frequently and for such a long period of time is still not “completely” understood. It’s been a great experience meeting doctors that really do care! Complicating matters further is the fact that I had some Bio-Alcamid injected a few years ago as well. The Bio-Alcamid has been removed for the most part but I can’t help but think it has been and still is a contributing factor in the flare-ups (assuming there is a small amount still in my face). The lumps and nodules are definitely PMMA (the texture and feel is unmistakable) but my theory is that the BioAlcamid contributes and exaggerates the immune response, again just my theory. I have come to the conclusion that controlling the lumps is the best plan. I’ve done an enormous amount of research over the last few years looking for a solution and really believe controlling them is the best strategy, surgery is not an option. I have been told that the constant flare-ups could eventually burn out (usually after 2 or 3 years). Incidentally, I was on Singular for a few months to try and control the inflammatory response and it seemed to be effective however I was one of the unlucky people that experienced the side effect of laryngitis. This doesn’t happen to everyone so you could consider adding that to your treatment plan. I’ve been off of Singulair for 2 months and my voice has only marginally improved so I have scheduled an appointment with an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist hoping to resolve this issue. All things considered, I’m just happy to have the lumps under control. For anyone reading this and considering PMMA injections, please carefully consider the “long term” risks involved with permanent filler. If I could start over again I would stick with temporary fillers-100%. WW

Hi, I had three shots of Kenalog-10 very dilated, which helped with the lump but also caused an indent. I then decided to get some Juvaderm injected which filled in the indent. It is not perfect but a lot better. The doctor said (I chose to use a different doctor this time) that in time the indent would fill back in. I hope so. My chin area will never be the same though. I wish I never went to Dr. Ben Lee's office. They really don't care about their patients, just how much money they can make.

Hi, It’s been more than a year of regular injections into my PMMA lumps, I'm convinced the best combo is 5FU with low dose steroid. I have never had an indentation with this combo. The 5FU is a miracle drug in my opinion and the low dose steroid seems to just help the process along but no side effects (gotta love that)! Generally 3-4 injections would do the trick for each lump. I can't even count how many lumps have been treated at this point. After treating the original lumps under my eyes, new lumps appeared regularly so I’ve been flying from Texas to California monthly for treatment. In my case; the first two lumps under my eyes were long and thin (gummy worm texture) but the rest of the lumps are nodules. It seems as though each PMMA microsphere has created its own small round nodule. For instance, where Artecoll/Artefill was implanted (ex: cheek hollow) I have a line of nodules following the same placement as the tunneled injection, same thing in my chin, jaw line, etc. Aside from the lumps under my eyes which are much better but not completely resolved, most of the nodules are no longer visible thanks to the 5FU/steroid injections. The under eye lumps are my biggest challenge because although they are much smaller, what remains of the lumps appears to be PMMA implanted too superficially and to date, there doesn’t seem to be a resolution for that. I had fat implanted in that area to try and camouflage but that created a whole other set of problems. I have been told by a well respected Doctor in Canada that there is a Surgeon in Italy successfully melting and removing Artecoll. Rest assured, when she sends me his contact info I will investigate the details. All in all, my face looks much better since my treatments with Dr Hoenig and no new lumps for the last two months. The 5FU/steroid injection is such a simple procedure, I would ask your local PS or really good Derm to speak with Dr Hoenig and get the specifics on the procedure. I stumbled on to something else I found helpful. When new lumps were popping up regularly I decided to see if I could buy 5FU on the internet. I discovered 5FU cream. Understanding this is a chemo product used to shrink tumors I cautiously ordered it, tried it and it WORKS! OK.. now HEAR THIS..where you put the cream the skin will get very red, sore and crusty and it will take a week, if not two weeks, for it to heal so definitely keep that in mind when you try it. I experimented with nodules I could hide (temples) for 3-4 days and low and behold although viciously scabby looking it did indeed shrink the nodules! I can’t guarantee it will work for anyone else I only know it worked for me. It remains to be seen whether or not the lumps return. When I can stay at home for a couple of weeks I’ll try the 5FU cream on other areas. If you want to try it just ask your doctor for a prescription. Now on to Bio-Alcamid, Dr Hoeing is very experienced with complications from fillers, so much so that he’s able to determine which product he’s feeling in my face. He determined where I had the Bio-Alcamid and decided to remove it. The Bio-Alcamid removal was amazing. He injected a solution into the area and then forcibly squeezed it out. I actually got to see the Bio-Alcamid after it came out. It’s very possible the removal of the Bio-Alcamid helped in resolving my frequent new lumps since it’s considered to have high risk of infection. I have spent a good deal of time investigating the concept of bacteria and biofilms and I do believe there is a connection between the biofilms and the nodules. I expect more data will be available on this in the near future. WW

Can Artefill be moved over about a fraction of an inch by massaging it? I just got my injection about a week ago and have been massaging it daily. Am upset that the doctor injected "above" the line instead of into the line! I need to move it over about a fraction of an inch. Will massaging it help? If so is there a specific technique to use?

Sorry but I massaged for about a month and this stuff doesn't move. They also injected in the wrong spot and injected too much which created a lump. Now my chin is lumpy which is creating the look of scars.

Where did you get your injection. I received my in Colorado by Carrie Ireland. Definately do not recommend her. She is all about money.