I am experiencing extreme swelling 6 hours after getting lip fillers. (Photos)

It is not unusual to to have a lot of swelling after lip injections with fillers.Especially after a couple of hours. Put intermittent ice on your lips and if there is any bruising apply some arnica on the site and watch it. The swelling should gradually subside in a day or two. If you see no change in a day or two or if it is getting worse see the provider that injected you. If you have severe pain, warmth, redness contact your provider immediately.

Thank you for your question. I suggest that you follow the recovery procedures provided by your board certified facial plastic surgeon. Ice should slow the swelling, although your amount of swelling seems more than typical. It is difficult to say without an in person examination.
Best wishes,

Thanks for your question- This amount of swelling can be perfectly normal. I've found that some fillers create more swelling than others... Perhaps you had one of those. Without more details, I cannot say for sure that this is normal though. How many syringes? What product? Was it immediate or is this the next day? Any white areas initially afterwards? Have you ever had filler before? Allergies to meds etc. These are all important things to know- If it doesn't subside soon- I'd recommend speaking to your doctor about it. Hope this helps and God Bless!Dr. Robb

I recommend following up with your injector for a formal evaluation. Some swelling can be typical after lip injections and can last 1-2 weeks. Icing, cold compresses and arnica can give improvement. Best, Dr. Emer

Dear madisonraylea,fillers have significant swelling post injection. I would follow up with you plastic surgeon but typically I tell all my patients to wait a full two weeks.  Generally at 2 weeks they are happy and glad they didn't dissolve.  Dissolving is unpredictable as well.Daniel Barrett, MD, MHA, MS 


Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery  

Member, Am. Society of Plastic Surgery

Either you got an inflammatory filler, or your injector traumatized the lip, which could including putting more than an ideal amount of filler into the lip.  Were you injected with silicone oil?  That should not be done and can cause severe inflammation.  Icing can help, so can oral steroids.  Contact your injector and make sure you know what you were injected with.  If they used silicone oil, you are going to need to find an ethical surgeon for care.  I would not recommend continuing care with an injector who choose to use silicone oil in the lip.  It shows terrible clinical judgement.

Thank you for your question. From your photos, it appears you have some swelling which is common after fillers for lip augmentation and can take up to 2 weeks to resolve. You can apply cold compresses to the area to help reduce swelling and bruising. It is also advisable to avoid any NSAID’s before and after treatment as they tend to thin the blood and increase the risk of bruising and swelling. I recommend having a follow up with your injector after 2 weeks. Best of Luck!

If this is from Restylane Silk injected with a needle, then it is completely normal and will resolve within 36 hours. If this was any other filler, it would be unusual. Regardless, your injector should see these photos and guide you on appropriate aftercare. 

The lips can be very reactive and this can lead to intense swelling after needles have been put into them.  I tell my patients to expect swelling for about 72 hours.  Holding ice packs gently against them as frequently as possible and using a thin layer of arnica cream four times daily will help the swelling to decrease more quickly.If your lips are warm to the touch and/or extremely painful, then I recommend contacting your injector as soon as possible.Best of luck to you.

Swelling after lip filler is normal- give your lips some time to heal. If the swelling doesn't subside in a couple days, you should check in with a doctor.