Is Juvederm for Lips Painful?

Lip Augmentation with facial fillers such as Juvederm and Restylane is a very common procedure. Although pain tolerance between patients varies considerably, there are many topical, injection technique related, and infiltrative anesthetic treatments that can minimize pain.
A reasonable approach to anesthesia for lip augmentation should focus on the following techniques:

Local anesthetic block of the infraorbital nerve and mental nerves
Topical anesthesia of the inner lip mucosa and the outer lip skin
Bolus injections of lidocaine into the upper sulcus and lower sulcus to reduce any ancillary nerve fibers
Use of a smaller needle.

If you are still having pain after the first injection, have your practitioner apply more topical anesthetic and injection. Be aware that anesthetics have toxic doses and only an experienced medical physician should be injecting these medicines.

The Juvederm Ultra Plus XC has powdered lidocaine in the product premixed.  It is possible to inject this material in the lips without topical anesthetics and certainly without nerve blocks.  Restylane injections previous all required these nerve blocks.  Newer techniques, newer products, smiled injectors, less pain.  Make sure that the person injecting the Juvederm is a board certified plastic surgeon. Nurse injectors just do not have enough skill, training, education, or expertise to inject fillers.

Thank you for your question!  I would reccomend a topical numbing cream before the actual injections.  Everyone is different when it comes to pain tolerance.  Best of luck!Dr Dhaval PatelDouble Board Certified Plastic SurgeonChicago Hoffman EstatesOak Brook

Thanks for this question.Thats sounds like a very difficult experience for you.Its hard to know why you fainted. That may not be the actual pain, but more the thought of, or the actual viewing of the needle.There are many good options for pain control during lip injections. Topical anaesthetic is great and so is ice. These can be used together and don't involve any needles. You may wish to try this and also try not to look at the needle on the syrige when your Doctor is working on your lips.

Lip injections do tend to be among the most uncomfortable of the dermal injections. I often use topical numbing medication combined with ice. Injectable filler agents also have lidocaine built into them and this also makes the procedure more comfortable. The vast majority of patients tolerate this fairly well. For those that need additional numbing, I will do dental blocks.

Pain tolerance varies from patient to patient when
injectable fillers are used. In some cases, patients are able to undergo the
procedure without anesthesia, while in other patients, anesthesia is an
absolute requirement.The
lips have a high density of sensory nerves and for this reason are very
sensitive to pain. Pain thresholds vary from patient to patient for a variety
of reasons including anxiety. In some patients this procedure can be performed
without anesthesia; while in others this would never be a consideration. Based
on your history, quality anesthesia was never really attained and as a result
the procedure was discontinued. Clearly
alternate strategies are necessary to make this a comfortable experience. Multiple options are available for anesthesia
under these circumstances. These include topical agents, injectable agents and
drugs that address anxiety. In many cases slowing down the process and using
these tools in combination can make this a more comfortable experience.Topical
anesthetics are relatively easy to use. These agents are simply spread over the
area before the procedure. They take approximately 10 to 15 minutes to work and
are moderately effective. The administration of these agents is pain free, but
doesn’t totally alleviate pain from the injection of dermal fillers. They can
also be used intra orally prior to intraoral anesthetic injections. When
using injectable fillers nerve blocks with local anesthetics are extremely
effective. This procedure is performed by infiltrating local anesthetic
intra-orally in the area of the infra orbital and mental nerves. This
effectively provides anesthesia of the upper and lower lips and surrounding
areas. This approach provides excellent
anesthesia which is almost instantaneous.Treating
anxiety with Valium is also helpful when these situations arise. Using topical anesthetics prior to injections
and giving these drugs adequate time to work is important as well. When injecting local anesthetics, it’s important
to inject slowly to avoid unnecessary pain. When these steps are taken treatment with injectable fillers can be a
much more comfortable experience for patients.