Sculptra Nodules Got Bigger After Massage

Question

I would like to know what to do about the nodules that appeared 2 weeks after my second Sculptra treatment. I was told to do vigorous massage, and it got bigger. I was then given some cortisone and told it may help. Then I was simply told it's just part of Sculptra. Is there anything I can do that will not disfigure me any further? My last treatment was on June 5th of 2009. Nodules were seen on June 22, 2009.

Tanveer Janjua, MD · Answer

Yes, here is what your physician can do.
Take a 30 gauge needle with saline in it and put the needle into the nodule and then go back and forth as if trying to break it up. Once it feels like it is breaking up, then push the saline in. Now massage it real, real hard to blend the small broken particles of the nodule into the surrounding tissue.  After that continue massage at home. You can also go to an aesthetician or a massage therapist and get deep massage of the face to facilitate the process.
After one week if there is still nodules left behind, then have the physician repeat the procedure.
Regards

Elan B. Singer, MD · Answer

Two weeks is a very short time following Sculptra injections. The last thing you should do at this point is an intervention. Leave everything alone for several months and let things settle. Gentle massage may help but I would avoid vigorous massage. If several discrete lumps are still present after several months, they can be excised through small incisions, but this is only a last resort. The most important thing you can do is to make regular visits to your doctor.  Good luck!

George J. Beraka, MD (retired) · Answer

Hi.
You could make things worse.  Leave it completely alone for 2 months and see what happens.  Of course, the lump will eventually fade, but it can take many months.  In extreme situations, the lump can be removed through a small incision.
This doesn't help you, except in the future, but we don't use Sculptra, because it takes repeated treatments, and I have seen lumps.  Ther are better fillers.

Sculptra Nodules Got Bigger After Massage

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Sculptra Nodules Got Bigger After Massage

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