Can Artifill be removed?

Our office specializes in the removal of permanent fillers from the face. I would suggest surgical removal if possible so as not to create further problems. Be careful of injecting chemo 5FU around the eyes. Best, Dr. KaramanoukianLos Angeles

I recommend seeing an expert who uses a significant amount of semi permanent and permanent fillers. Sometimes 5fu/steroid injections and RF treatments work to improve this area without any surgery needed.  Best, Dr. Emer.

First, let me say how sorry I am that you are experiencing this problem. I would suggest returning to the treating physician to determine whether the problem truly relates to the permanent filler, and, if so, whether the problem might benefit from the injection of anti-inflammatory agents or whether it might have to even be removed surgically, if at all possible. The problem with the use of permanent fillers is that complications, should they occur, or even if the result is not entirely cosmetically acceptable, are not easily reversible and may be permanent. 

In a recent, August 2016 issue of Practical Dermatology, a professional trade journal, in an article entitled Point/Counterpoint: Is There A Role for Permanent Fillers, the author writing the PRO side stated the following: "Let me start by saying this: I am 99.9 percent against the use of permanent facial fillers." On the CON side, the author, who himself had once been a consultant for the Canadian branch of the company that makes Artefill wrote: "and many of us have years of experience dealing with the chronic and sometimes intractable problems that can result from the use of these fillers...Reactions to PMMA (the main ingrdient of this permanent filler--parentheses mine) may not develop for five-10 years after the product is injected, and there is no way to predict who is at risk or to prevent these problems from arising." 



Enough said  Once again, I am so sorry that you are experiencing this and I strongly urge you to return to the treating physician to explore how best to proceed. Wishing you all the best..

Good Day. Thank you for your question.The first issue is to wait for at least 4-6 weeks after the injection for resolution of all possible swelling. A patient discussion regarding treatment options follows. If there is adjacent soft tissue volume loss, correction of this volume loss with a filler may resolve the concerned appearance.If there is no adjacent volume loss or no further filler is desired, than a nonsurgical approach with the injection of a steroid (triamcinolone or Kenalog) to the area of fullness is indicated. A repeat injection may be considered every 4-8 weeks. 5-FU can be injected alone or in combination with Kenalog as an alternative.If these do not resolve the abnormality then surgical therapy is the last and finite procedure. If the fullness is at the lower eyelid area, an incision can be performed inside the eyelid to completely hide the incision. Since no all injectors are surgeons, a facial plastic or oculoplastic surgeon may need to be consulted to avoid additional complications. Best of luck.