I patch tested Bellafill 10 days ago and no allergic reaction. Should I wait 3 more weeks?

Hi, and thanks for your question. I have been injecting Bellafill (previously known as Artefill) for 8 years. I have injected thousands of patients and have seen a mild reaction maybe once. In Canada, allergy testing is often not done at all because reactions are so rare. For these reasons I mostly do an allergy test on the day of injection, wait about 30 minutes and, if there is no reaction, proceed to injection right away. My opinion is that if you are not seeing anything at this point it is safe to proceed. Of course there is no harm in waiting 3 more weeks, but I think it is not necessary. Hope that helps. 

Thank you for your question. You should ask your doctor the timeframe for the timeframe for which they are most comfortable. The fact that the injection site is imperceptible is great news, and many surgeons move forward after an allergy test in different timeframes. Always consul with a board certified facial plastic surgeon.

Best wishes,

the package insert says to wait 30 days.  I find that if you are clear after 72 hours there is likely not going to be a reaction.  Best, Dr. Emer.

Best to wait the full 30 days from the date of the skin test if your going to do it the right way. Just be aware that a negative skin test does not guarantee that you wont have a reaction to Bellafill when more of this filler is injected into your face. With that being said, in having performed over 2000 syringes, I have not yet seen a positive allergic reaction to Bellafill so a positive skin test would be very rare. In fact, the skin test tests for hypersensitivity to the bovine collagen component of Bellafill, not the Bellafill PMMA crystal.

Bellafill filler injectable is FDA approved for the correction of facial wrinkles known as nasolabial folds or smile lines, and the correction of acne scars. Bellafill works and keeps on working! Bellafill is a bio stimulant facial filler that works with your body to start producing your own body's collagen in the desired injected areas. Everyone's body is different and may react in different ways to certain things so doing the skin test 10 days before your injectable appointment is a great idea! It will reduce the risks of any allergic reaction! I hope this helps you on your journey!:)

Dear bennam68:  In the best of all worlds, you woul wait the full 28 days because it can take that long for a type IV hypersensitivity to manifest. However, if you have no history of beef allergy, it would be extraordinarily rare for you to develop a reaction. You should discuss this with your dermatologist before proceding.  All the best,   Dr. Clark

It is recommended to wait 3-4 weeks from administration to see if you are negative. The rate of being positive is about 0.5 %. People who haven't been exposed to the collagen need that amount of time to mount an allergic reaction. People with prior exposure and are allergic will show much sooner responses.

Thanks for your question. Bellafill contains bovine derived collagen and thus could provoke an allergic reaction in a patient who has allergy to red meat. Back in 2009 there were cases reported of a delayed anaphylactic reaction to red meat. In the southeastern/central US (Virgina, North Carolina, Arkasas, Oklahoma, Missouri) it is believed that antibodies formed after a bite from the Lone Star tick led to a subsequent allergic reaction to red meat. Overall in the US population this allergy is quite rare. Persons with allergy to bovine collagen will have reactions as well to eating red meat especially if it is a fatty red meat (they might get away with eating a small amount of lean meat without a reaction). In other countries the Bellafill skin test is thus "optional". In the US it is done but many practitioners skip it or don't wait the 28 days if the patient clearly has no reaction reported to red meat by history. The Bellafill skin test also tests for allergy to lidocaine, but most people opting for Bellafill injection have already been injected with other fillers which contain lidocaine and there is no prior skin testing required before injection of these other fillers. In my practice we have started testing many of our clients who get dermal fillers on some sort of regular basis, even if they are not there for Bellafill that day. Thus, if they decide to switch over to Bellafill at a future time there is no "extra waiting period" for a skin test result almost sure to be negative...Interestingly, Abobotulinumtoxin A (Dysport) is contraindicated in patients with cow's milk protein allergy because bovine protein is a constituent, yet there is no skin test required prior to its injection.Best,Lisa Vuich, MD

The incidence of reactions to the skin test is very low.  There are some physicians who will accept a much shorter time for moving ahead with injecting Bellafill and there is some evidence to suggest that there may be no need to test if you are not allergic to beef products.  If you have had the test, there is no harm in waiting a couple more weeks to make sure.I hope that helps.Best regards.