What Can I Do About Scars from Juvederm/restylane Injections on my Lips? (photo)

Some patients will develop a lump or bump after filler injection.  Fortunately most are seen in the first few days and spontaneously resolve.  Sometimes a little massaging of the bump will help.  If the lumps last more than a few weeks, I would recommend the treating physician be contacted for an evaluation.  If hyaluronic fillers such as Juvederm, Restylane, or Belotero were used, these products can easily be dissolved.

When a bump appears a year later, and was not previously noted, other questions come to mind.  It may be scar tissue, or a reaction to the product.  It may be, that the product dissolved irregularly, exposing isolated pockets of the remaining filler.  This is a good point in time to return to your physician for a thorough evaluation.  All possibilities must be considered, and a cause establiished before instituting treatment.  Injecting the area with a steroid, as is commonly done for scar tissue, is very risky, and could lead to unpredictable (and very unpleasant looking) indentations in your lip.  Thus it should only be done with the utmost caution, perhaps the most dilute dose in only one area.  Other times, the lumps can be dissolved with hyaluronidase, or consideration could even be given to filling the lip so as to camouflage the remaining lumps.  I hope this helps, and good luck with this difficult problem.

 

Sincerely,

Yoash R. Enzer, MD, FACS