Will a Kenalog Injection Help Reduce 'Bulky' Radiesse Results?

Kenalog is a particulate steroid which alters your body's natural immune response. It is effective at reducing inflammation by reducing your body's to produce certain proteins that are part of your immune response.
Kenalog has the following risks that your physician should discuss clearly with you.
1. tissue atrophy (a permanent problem)
2. in reducing your immune response can make you more prone to infection temporarily in the injected area.
3. can cause hypopigmentation of the skin (making your skin appear lighter - again a permanent problem).
4. systemically it can also temporarily increase blood sugar (usually not an issue in individuals who are not diabetic or in small doses of the medication).
It may also not correct the problem you're dealing with - especially if the residual swelling is secondary to a fluid collection.
You should discuss this issue in detail with your treating physician. He will likely tell you to wait and monitor your progress carefully with you for the next few weeks.
I hope this helps.
Steven Williams, MD

Kenalog is a steroid used for its anti-inflammatory properties. It may help with some surrounding swelling initially but the side effects including thinning of the skin, fat atrophy, and hypopigmentation are not worth the risk. There is no good antidote for Radiesse.

Early swelling with Radiesse can occur in some patients and is not unusual.  It is  important to determine if the swelling is from the Radiesse or from a collection of blood (termed a hematoma).  Wait for three months and if swelling is still present, consult with your physician.

Facial fillers correct areas of facial atrophy, loss of volume, and deep wrinkles. The various forms of facial filers have high or low complication profiles depending on their method of injection and inherent chemical stability.
In the early postprocedural period, a patient may experience bruising, swelling, hematoma, and accelerated swelling due to the absorptive effects of facial fillers.
Many of these effects will subside.
It is important that the patient avoid corrective procedures in the first month of treatment in order to avoid secondary deformities. If a physician deems that early intervention is indicated, it should be due to a high suspicion of early and intense granuloma formation. There are several other indications for early treatment but these require early assessment by a trained physician.
I believe that kenalog will actually help minimize the proliferative effects of Radiesse injection and thus will use it judiciously in my armamentarium.

Hi JC,
One of the down sides to Radiesse is that it is not reversible. You and your physician should be very careful. Kenalog is a steroid that can cause atrophy of the skin and soft tissue. I would advise against using it to decrease the effects of excess Radiesse. The Radiesse will eventually go away, if you get atrophy from the Kenalog injections, you will have a life long problem.
Massage to move the product around and possible additional filler (hyaluronic acids) to blend the bulkiness may be helpful.
Avoid the Kenalog injections; don't make a bad situation worse. I hope that everything turns out well for you.
Dr. P