Do lip fillers leave behind permanent fullness in the form of scar tissue when naturally dissolved?

Question

I am worried I may have scar tissue due to persisting lip filler at almost 12 months after receiving 1mL of Versa in my lips. I read one unverified source where a plastic surgeon mentioned that “fillers leave behind 10% of their volume as permanent fullness due to scar tissue”. Is this true? IOr could she be miscommunicating and rather speaking of temporary collagen production? Please help I do not want even 10% volume increase and want to return to original size soon. Thanks

Geeta Yadav, MD · Answer

Thank you for your question! It is up for debate whether or not filler can leave long-term scar tissue. Nodules of filler are possible, but these can often be dissolved with hyaluronidase or reabsorbed by the body over time. I recommend booking an in-person consultation with a qualified provider who can help determine the best course of action for returning your lips to their original size. Hope this helps!

David M. Kowalczyk, MD, MBA, FACS · Answer

Hi there! That's a great question which will surely leave a number of different responses. I have heard that filler can leave scar tissue to a degree long-term in most patients. Others feel like that is very unlikely. I probably agree more with the latter of the two, though I'm not sure it's entirely known. Sometimes, nodules form and steroid injections with massaging may help. I would try something along those lines and see if any benefit occurs. Hope this is useful!

Mats Hagstrom, MD (license on probation) · Answer

Generally speaking for the great majority of all patients especially when things are done accurately and correctly hyaluronic acid Will be broken down by hyaluronidaze in your body naturally over time.
For the great majority of all patients treated things will return to baseline often sooner than patients had hoped for. Once in a blue moon there have been patients who’ve had photographic documentation of areas that have a slight different contour or there appears to be something slightly different than baseline typically after many years of injecting fillers in the same area.
Recognize that simply being a year or two older also has an impact on how areas can look when analyzed carefully.
Things like camera distance ambient lighting and other variables can also have an impact so before people jump to conclusions they should assume that HA fillers will within six months be completely eliminated leaving no trace of permanence.
For individuals who do show evidence of contour or shape being distorted by having had previous fillers we don’t have a good explanation that clearly demonstrates what confirms what the ideology or cause is. in other words we don’t know if it’s residual filler that seems to take forever to go away or scar tissue or small amounts of bleeding from the injection that led to inflammation and that intern caused tissues to change. Almost all patients who claim to have residual volume or long-term changes from fillers will not respond to reversal enzyme injections.
That speaks clearly to the fact that any long-term change is not related to persistent or long lasting hyaluronic acid.
Usually there’s a more logical common sense explanation especially when there is a significant period time being more than a year or two.
The number of cases of individuals who feel like the use of fillers cost and permanent change is very rare and almost all of them had multiple rounds of fillers over long periods of time.
You should not expect to have any long-term impact other than while the filler is present.
These unexplained changes are flukes or very unusual and the truth is no one can tell you accurately exactly what it represents.
When doctors say it’s scar tissue they are making assumptions and giving you their opinion not fact.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom MD

Do lip fillers leave behind permanent fullness in the form of scar tissue when naturally dissolved?

Answers (3)

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