Bruising only on 1 side of mouth after Juvederm (Photo)

Hello, and thank you for reaching out to us. Bruising may occur and the medications you are taking may make bruising more common. Good luck, please let us know how it goes.-Dr. Constantino Mendieta

I believe the best way to prevent bruising during injectable fillers is the use of a blunt tipped micro-cannula during injections. Blunt tip micro-cannula's travel in the path of least resistance. During the injection, the micro-cannula is near a blood vessel, it will typically push it to the side and prevent a bruise. If a needle is used during an injection, it is a higher likelihood of injuring a nearby blood vessel. While bruising is always a possibility during dermal filler injections, I believe the risk is greatly decreased with the use of a blunt tip micro-cannula.

Thank you for your question and for sharing your experiences.  I am sorry to hear of your repeated bruising episodes to your lower face/jawline after dermal filler placement.  Other options for prevention would include taking the arnica orally for a couple of days in anticipation of your procedure as well as icing the area prior to treatment.  You may also want to consider bromelain supplements as an anti-inflammatory agent.  Cannula use may limit the number of injections with a needle to also limit trauma to the area.  I am attaching a link below with additional information you may find useful.  

Thank you for your question and the photos. It is common to have bruising after injection. However, you can treat bruising with warm compresses and can continue to take Arnica. I recommend having consultation with an expert injector for evaluation and treatment. Best of Luck!

 

Thank you for your question and for sharing your postprocedure photographs.  Predicting when a patient will or will not bruise can be very difficult, even for very experienced injectors.  Some bruising and swelling is considered normal after an injectable procedure, but bruise prevention is an important consideration.  As you mentioned, icing for up to 48 hours and application of arnica to the affected areas is very helpful for minimizing bruising.  Avoidance of aspirins, NSAIDS, fish oils or fish oil-containing supplements, vitamin E, garlic and ginko biloba for one week prior to a planned injection will also significantly decrease your bruising risk.  Avoidance of bending, heavy lifting and any strenuous activities such as going to the gym for 24 hours after the procedure will also minimize your bruising risk.  I find that some patients with a history of bruising benefit from applying the arnica gel to the areas to be injected twice per day "prophylactically" for up to one week prior to planned injections in addition to application after the procedure.  Best wishes!