ArteFill: Stories

Write a Review

Many Rounds of ArteFill and Very Lilttle Change - San Francisco, CA

I have have had lots of injections. The...

I have have had lots of injections. The dermatologist injected more than 20k of ArteFill in my cheek bones, cheeks, nasal folds, and there is not much progress at all.

I am not sure what to do. Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you for all your comments. My experience...

Thank you for all your comments. My experience seems quite different in that the ArteFill treatment had very little effect. And the little effect it did have is uneven: I am lopsided.

The doctor is Dr. Mosser in San Francisco, and now he does not want to inject more or otherwise remedy the situation.

I am at a loss about what to do, and I now have spent all my savings.

Great review?

My Doctor:

My rating:

Doctor's Bedside Manner
Answered My Questions
After Care Follow-Up
Time Spent With Me
Phone or Email Responsiveness
Staff Professionalism & Courtesy
Payment Process
Wait Times

I marked this as "don't recommend" because I don't know how to solve my situation. He is very nice, but we have not achieved my original goal of looking a little more youthful, and I am $20,000.00 into this. He does not seem to have a solution either.

Comments (14)

Sort by
Nasrin Mani, MD 11 Jun 2011
Just to clarify - the Artefill spheres remain in the skin. The bovine collagen degrades in 2 to 3 months.

Generally during that time period new natural collagen forms around and between the PMMA spheres so there is a gradual additional improvement in the first 6 months.

Again, facial wasting, weight loss or age can prevent expected outcomes from Artefill or any filler. If none of these are an issue, then for certain there should be some communication between you, your surgeon and the company.
Nasrin Mani, MD 11 Jun 2011
This does sound very unusual. Artefill is only 20% actual product - the other 80% is bovine collagen.
The 20% of PMMA (the permanent spheres that remain in the skin) is meant to create a collagen response.

May I ask your age? Collagen production capability slows with age and the older we get, the less likely we are to "respond" as expected.

But I would assume you would have had this much product injected over a fairly extended period of time, so there should have been an indication it was not working well after the first set of injections.

You might consider asking the surgeon to have the company which makes Artefill, Suneva Medical, investigate your situation. It's not impossible that the product itself was defective or had an improper ratio of PMMA to collagen. The doctor will have all the lot numbers of the syringes used in your treatments so there can be some exact followup.

Placement depth is important in results. Nasolabial folds are notorious for swallowing large amounts of fillers and not showing much results.

But I'm assuming from your payout that you had 15 to 20 syringes and unless there is facial wasting going on from immune deficiency or illness, it would seem you would have a fairly substantial appearance improvement.
Aziza84 14 May 2011
Hey Zondi,

I kind of got scarred after reading the reviews and asked for my money back hehe. I am going to get another opinion from another doctor. I've heard of Dr. Romano I've had my radiesse done before by Dr. Mabrie in SF but now live in O.C thinking I might even have Dr. Mabrie do my artefill eventually.
Can I ask what areas you got it done? and how does it look now after one year. As well as how many injections you had.
Zondi 11 Jun 2011
Hello Aziza84,

I had the cc amount that is a minimum purchase and it was used over 3 sessions gradually building up the areas. It was primarily used in the bracket area on each side of my upper lip but I also had him smooth the transition between the nostril region of my nose and the upper part as I wanted a subtle transition between the two regions. He can use the Artefill in most regions.
Zondi 14 May 2011
I had Artefill injected over a year ago and it was incredible. Fortunately the doctor himself took time to carefully explain the pros and cons as well as what results to expect. Dr. Romano in San Francisco comes highly recommended after my experience! He did every injection procedure by himself for me. Very skilled.......
Aziza84 31 Mar 2011
i agree with (inside and out) I never heard of 20k in Artefill! I would think that is dangerous. Maybe you meant another injection? I will be getting mine done in 2 weeks and I might need another touch up in couple of months depending on how satisfied I am. Keep us posted.
San Francisco8987 9 May 2011
This is ArteFill for sure. I didn't realize that this many injections was uncommon. It seemed quite "normal" at the teims.
Aziza84 9 May 2011
HI SF,

My previous co-worker actually works for Dr. Mosser, but I know live in Orange County. I used to help manage a team of Nurses this is how I know about him because I heard Dr. Mosser is one of the best surgeons out there. I was suppose to get my artefill done back in April here in O.C, but I actually changed my mind and asked for my money back after hearing so many reviews I wasn't 100% ready yet until I get more information so for now I have not done anything. I atually used to have a dr in SF who would do my Radiesse and he was wonderful I have disscuss to him about doing Artefill and maybe in the future will have him do it. I think it is best to go to someone who performs different types of fillers and knows about each and every one out there. The Dr.'s name is Dr. David Mabrie in SF he did my Radiesse. I am sorry about your experience. If Dr. Mosser can not fix you maybe someone else can. Have a wonderful Monday!
inside and out 24 Feb 2011
I had approx 2000.00 put in there....mariontes and hollows on cheeks. My plastic surgeon only hires RNs for his business. It was about 3 years ago. I remain very pleased...except one of the hollows is starting to come back now...but have lost about 10 lbs since then. Is your doc certified? For real? Google the heck out of him because that's a lot of artefill and something should've happened for you. Unless you have severe wasting syndrome (AIDS patients). This blows my mind. You may have a little lawsuit on your hands....and I would research and pursue. Maybe he didn't even use artefill...maybe it was just saline! Did you receieve an intial skin test? That would've been mandatory to prove you were not allergic to the bovine substance in it....if he didn't give that....then I would wonder even more. You neeed to investigate. Sounds like a scam to me. Although he couldve faked the skin test with saline also. This stuff happens a lot!!! There are a lot of imposters out there? Ever had any other work done by him? Blessings.
San Francisco8987 9 May 2011
Yes, the ArteFill treatment had very little effect. And the little effect it did have is uneven: I am lopsided.

I am at a loss about what to do, and I now have spent all my savings.

Dr. Mosser does not want to inject more or otherwise remedy the situation.
San Jose7451 23 Dec 2010
Hello San Francisco,

This is my first time signing in to this forum. But I think you should get a second opinion, even though doc's dont comment much on each others work. But you could get an idea of what you should expect. I hope you dont get those side effects over time that some others got.

In terms of the investment, I agree that seems very steep especially compared to the other prices listed here. I think you should talk to him directly about the problem. Most of them are reasonable and want happy patients. Hopefully he will give you a discount maybe even for volume.

Please keep us posted,
Sharon
San Francisco8987 23 Dec 2010
Yes 20k. The more I learn, the more I see that the amount injected and price is way out of line.

In terms of who the surgeon is, this is somebody in San Francisco. I am still hoping he will be fair.
San Mateo 23 Dec 2010
$20,000...as in 20k? Twenty thousand dollars? That seems excessive. Who is the doctor?
BrittB 22 Dec 2010

Hi San Francisco,

Welcome to the community. I'm sorry you didn't get the results you were looking for. You might want to check out the answers to the question, "Does artefill work in cheeks" in our Dr Q&A it might help. Please keep us updated and thanks for the review.

Thanks,

-Britt

Welcome Back

Sign in with Facebook

Your information remains private and will not be posted without your permission.

Forgot your password?

Don't have an account? Create one now.

Join RealSelf

Join with Facebook

Your information remains private and will not be posted without your permission.

Please enter a valid email address
 Did you mean ?

By creating an account, you are indicating that you have read and accept the RealSelf Terms of Use.

Already a member? Sign In.

Retrieve your password

Enter your username or email address and we will send you a link to login.

Check your email

Check your email. We've sent you a link to reset your password.

Ok