Permanent liquid silicone injections are sometimes used as fillers in augmentation or enhancement procedures. Unlike other fillers, injected silicone does not absorb or get broken down by the body, but its permanence can be as much a liability as an asset.Â
Results, good or bad, typically can’t be undone and won’t necessarily adapt with natural body changes over time. There are also serious side effects—particularly with nonmedical-grade silicone—that can happen at any point after treatment, even years later.
Silikon 1000, the primary medical-grade injectable silicone oil, is FDA-approved for treatment of retinal detachment in ophthalmology, though some doctors use it off-label, to plump lips, change the shape of the nose, and address acne scars and under-eye hollows.Â
When used as a facial filler, silicone is injected in very small amounts (never more than 1cc total) across one to three treatments, spaced over a month. Known as the microdroplet technique, this approach allows the liquid silicone to diffuse throughout the injected tissue and prompt collagen to grow around it.
Even the board-certified plastic surgeons and dermatologists who perform these off-label injections emphasize that liquid silicone should never be injected in large amounts, for body contouring, including buttock augmentation (known as “butt shots”) and breast enhancement—especially by unqualified injectors outside a reputable medical facility. The health risks far outweigh the accessibility and affordability of these injections, which may even use the same type of silicone found in a hardware store.
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