Is two weeks enough healing time for lip injections?

Question

My wedding is two weeks from my appointment date. My doctor, whom I adore and trust, says that is more than enough time to heal. However, I've never had lip injections before, and I do tend to bruise a lot in my lower face. AND I'm prone to cold sores. I've been taking arnica and Valtrex this week, but I'm getting nervous because time is at a premium. I want to look beautiful for my wedding, but I'm wondering if the risk is worth it. Is two weeks enough healing time from lip injections? I've been taking

Bhupesh Vasisht, MD · Answer

Have you heard of Murphys law?  This is a classic situation we all deal with in plastic surgery, a deadline for healing.  The short answer is yes..you should be fine with plenty time to spare from this in 2 weeks.  The long answer has to do with murphys law...it is hard to predict and things happen when you least expect.  If you are this worried and have the issues that you mentioned like easy bruising and cold sore..then I would recommend you wait.  Hope this helps.  Good luck and congratulation on your wedding.Dr Vasisht

Afshin Farzadmehr, MD · Answer

The injection technique is important second location where injection is done and then amount injected all determine swelling and results.  Last to look natural that would be the aesthetic artistry and what constitute beauty and appreciating natural results bu the injector.  Hope all that helps to understand differences in results and healing time.

Jason Emer, MD · Answer

Swelling and bruising are both common after lip injections, I tell my patients to allow 10-14 days for all swelling to resolve. Most likely you would be fine and the swelling would be gone by your wedding day, but that is something you will have to consider. It also does not allow time for any correction of asymmetry or volume. Congrats on your big day! Best, Dr. Emer

Gordon Andan, MD · Answer

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! Under normal circumstances, 2 weeks would be ample time to recover from the initial swelling and bruising involved with lip injections. However, I wouldn’t suggest risking a new cosmetic treatment right before your special day. Although the chance of complication is rare, 2 weeks would not be a sufficient amount of time for any necessary touch-ups or corrections. If you had 4 weeks before you walked down the aisle, I’d say go for it. But in your case, play it safe and steer clear of lip injections.

Christian N. Ford, MD · Answer

Thank you for your great question and congratulations on your big day!  Some swelling and bruising after filler injection is normal, especially in the lips.  Icing can help for up to 48 hours postprocedure.  Arnica is helpful for minimizing postprocedure swelling and bruising.  Please keep in mind that it is important to allow for any swelling and bruising to resolve in order to see your final result.  This process generally takes 2 weeks.  So, if you have any concerns about your final result, you will likely have very little time to coordinate an in-person reevaluation with your doctor to address your concerns prior to your event.  Also, even with the Valtrex, there is still an unlikely chance that you could develop a cold sore.  Chances are, given the timeline, you will be just fine to follow your doctor's recommendation and to proceed with lip augmentation.  However, I would strongly advise you to weigh all the risks, benefits and alternatives so that you are not disappointed in the unlikely event that things don't go exactly as planned.  Ideally, I think 4 weeks would be a better time interval prior to such a big event.  Hope this helps and best wishes!

Stephen Weber MD, FACS · Answer

Two weeks is the minimum amount of time you want to allow to heal before your wedding. In the vast majority of cases, one week is plenty of time. However, this is a very special day for you and you don't want any distractions from the big event. I hope this information is helpful for you.Stephen Weber MD, FACSDenver Facial Plastic Surgeon

Shaun Patel, MD · Answer

Congratulations on the upcoming wedding! I usually tell patients to plan for 10-14 days of bruising/swelling as a worst case scenario. You will probably be just fine with an experienced injector using gentle technique, however, given how important your big event is, I would probably hold off just to be safe.

Victor Chung, MD · Answer

Many patients want to look their best at an upcoming event: wedding, reunion, or milestone.Although the complication rate from in office procedures is very low, it is not zero. In addition, first time procedures may need to be touched-up. When planning for a procedure, I would recommend allowing for time to recover from the procedure as well as time for touch-ups or treating rare complications. Recovery for a lip augmentation is typically 2 weeks, so I would at least double that time before any event. It's best to be conservative and safe when a big life event is coming up.

Johnson C. Lee, MD · Answer

Two weeks is usually enough healing time for lip injections if there are no complications. Swelling is worst 2-3 days after the procedure and usually resolves by 10 days. Bruising may take slightly longer, but any resolving discoloration can be covered with lipstick. Complications such as infection, assymetry, overfilling, hematoma, or vascular injury are unlikely but important to be aware of and would take much longer to heal. Hope this helps! Congratulations!Johnson C. Lee MD Plastic Surgery

Millicent Odunze Geers, MD, MPH · Answer

Congratulations! I got married just 6 weeks ago, so I know all the giddiness, joy, anxiety, and anticipation coursing through you right now. I was nervous getting a simple facial with microdermabrasion 3 weeks before my wedding, what more of facial injections! Most likely, everything would go well with your lip injections, but I wouldn't risk it. If you had 4 or more weeks to heal, then I'd say you could go forward. Two weeks is just at that point where there will be so many last minute stressors just dealing with your wedding that you'd be more prone to a cold sore breakout, even with Valtrex prophylaxis. Even without the Juvederm, you will look beautiful on your wedding day because you'll have so much joy radiating from within. Relate your concerns to your makeup artist. S/he may have some tricks to help your lips look fuller and fantastic for your photos. Make sure you do some makeup test runs to get the look you want. Good luck and wishing you everlasting happiness as you go into this new phase of life.

Is two weeks enough healing time for lip injections?

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