Restylane Injections Only Lasted Three Days?

Injected properly, Restylane in the lips won't disappear in 3 days. As others have mentioned, you likely had a fair amount of swelling and had less product injected than you thought. Always be clear about your expectations and discuss them at length with your provider. Knowing and understanding what look you're trying to achieve is vital to a satisfying result. The more educated and informed you are, the better off you'll be!

In general, both Restylane and Juvederm work well to fill the lips. Juvederm is a little softer than the Restylane, and may be a better option for some patients. 
These fillers generally last for about 9 months, but actual results vary from patient to patient.  It is not possible for the filler to last only 3 days.  What you may have seen initially was some minor swelling, and less of the product was injected than you thought.  It is possible the nurse took a very conservative approach.  I would give it a little bit of time and see how your lips look after a few weeks.  At this point, you may elect to use more filler in the area.  Overall, a filler is the best option for a lip augmentation and will give the most natural result. Thanks and good luck!

Three days is abnormally short. Restylane should lasts six months on average, if it is not lasting long there may be an issue with injection too deep.

 

The most likely explanation is that an insufficient quantity of restylane and juvederm was utilized. Consult with 3 - 4 experienced and expert injectors. Fat transfer is unpredictable and problematic so that is unlikely to be the answer.

You didn't indicate the volumes that were injected, but my guess is that very little product was inserted. When lip injections are done, the patients' lips at the end of the procedure and that following evening can be ridiculously swollen and large. The edema then decreases within about 2 days.

If your lips looked the appropriate volume during this period, it's likely you didn't get enough product injected. Just a thought.

 

mike kim, md

While HA fillers (Restylane, Juvederm) may not last in lips as long as they would in other areas, there is no way that all filler was gone in 3 days.  I am sure that if you compared your lips carefully enough before and after the injection, you would have seen the difference.  There was more noticeable difference immediately because of the swelling which then resolved. Therefore, if you like the way your lips looked with the swelling component better, then you need more material injected next time around.

Without photographs, we can't evaluate your situation but Restylane does not disappear after three days.  You also haven't indicated the volume of product injected.  Given all the board certified dermatologists and plastic surgeons performing this procedure, I frankly do not understand why a patient would see a nurse, rather than a physiican.  I agree wholeheartedly with Dr. Palmer that fat transfer is unpredictable and problematic. 

It is not possible that the Restylane lasted only 3 days. You may have seen initial swelling subside after 3 days. If you look closely or compare to old pictures, chances are the lips look augmented compare to before the injection. Juvederm gives results equal to Restylane but it lasts several months longer. As for fat transfer to the lips, it will work and will give you more permanent results. There is a longer down time after fat transfer surgery and significantly more swelling but the result are longer lasting (but not permanent).

 Only possibility is that the volume placed in the lips was way too small and what you saw for three days was not much more than swelling caused by the injections into the lips.  I have performed lip Augmentations for over 25 years using fillers and implants and written a scientific paper on the subject.  IMHO, fat transfer is unreliable and can become displaced within the lips moving to the surrounding skin creating vertical ridges that are extremely difficult to resolve.  use an adequate volume of an off the shelf filler like Juvederm Ultra or consider an Alloderm Lip Implant which last about 7 years.  

My true assumption here is that both of you like fuller lips and 1 syringe of Restylane or Juvederm simply isn't enough for you. Both of you seem to prefer the more swollen look that can happen right after injections are done, so it seems like the filler has disappeared to you. In fact, it cannot, cannot, cannot do that and you simply need more product. I will also state that it does matter how deep the injections are done as well, so placement is key, and many people who think their fillers are gone after a few days don't realize that it may have been put at a deeper level. I don't recommend fat transfers and I've seen both good and bad results with them (more bad than good honestly). So, I would recommend a consultation with another physician with a great deal of injection experience and where you go over your photos both pre and post from the prior injections. I think you need more filler, quite simply, to achieve the look you desire, probably 1.5 or 2 syringes.