Dissolving Puffy Lip Filler (Juvederm)

January 3, 2019

Hi! The same has happened to me. I had juvederm in my lips two years ago and hadn’t really noticed the puffiness above my lips until I just had then done for a 2nd time (3 weeks ago) . Now they look awful, and I am considering Hyaluronidase from a different Dr. You mentioned that the puffiness was a result of wrong type of Juvéderm that was used - can you tell me which kind was injected that you think was wrong ? Also, do you know how much Hyaluronidase was used? I am so reluctant to do the Hyaluronidase bc I seem to always have bad reactions to anything , but don’t know if I can wait years for it to look normal again.

January 4, 2019

Hi! So sorry you’re unhappy with your lips, I feel your pain! What I learned about the previous fillers was that the products (Ultra Plus, Vollure) were ones that had a larger molecule; since my lip was pretty thin to begin with, the filler settled above the lip line since my lip could not expand as much as the filler was injector. When I jut had my lip redone (post-hyaluronidase) the doctor used Volbella instead, which is supposed to be the best on the market for lips now and has a smaller molecule, giving a softer/natural result. I do also think the puffiness can be a result of poor technique of the injector. Unfortunately I don’t know how much hyaluronidase was injected for me—what I recommend is to go to a board certified facial plastic surgeon who is experienced in injections. I must have called 20+ plastic surgeons in my area to ask about hyaluronidase before I found one willing and able to help me, and luckily he also had great RealSelf reviews and does all injections himself. That way you will be in really great hands, and that person can address any concerns about a potential allergy! Ultimately I’m so glad I decided to go for the hyaluronidase rather than be deterred by a few scary RealSelf reviews. I had a great experience and am finally super happy with my lips :) Good luck!!!

SJaykes

January 16, 2019

Hello! Thank you soooo much for posting this! Your lips before you got them dissolved are exactly how mine are now. I have to go back to the dr who did it on Sunday and I'M DREADING IT! What if he doesn't dissolve them or refuses to see anything wrong as it's his work? Don't know what to do if that happens. Your lips look beautiful now, I would keep them as they are

January 18, 2019

Hi! I’m so sorry you’re unhappy!! I hope the doctor will acknowledge that you didn’t have the result you want, either way it’s not your fault so don’t feel guilty! I’m sure he will dissolve it for you, but worst case he doesn’t, definitely find a new plastic surgeon/injector and don’t look back! I wish I knew sooner that this is a fixable issue, I really thought i’d just have to wait it out. So don’t stress, you will get it fixed one way or another :) I recommend starting your research on who you would want to do your lips next time. I did a TON of calling around and research before I found my current person, and I’m so glad I didn’t settle. He is a facial plastic surgeon (ie, only works on faces, so he has a real eye for what someone “needs”), which for me was a better choice than just a typical plastic surgeon, since I was very anxious about dissolving. I hope you’ll keep me posted, and good luck! You’ll be fine :)

SJaykes

January 20, 2019

Hello, thank you sooo much for your reply. I saw the guy today and he said it definitely isn't the filler he injected as he used juvederm 3 and that wears off completely at 9 months. He showed me my pre-treatment photos and basically my lips look like that now. So he says there's not really much filler in my lips, but they still have that puffy look (only top lip actually). He also advised against hyalase as he said that would dissolve my own hyalouronic acid that is naturally present. He thinks it was probably the first practioner I had in 2014 that has caused this and he believes there's nothing that can be done as the filler is mixed in with my tissue (?). Tricky one. I think I'll just leave it for now and see if it eventually disappears. But thank you soooo much for your reply and I'm glad you are happy now. My next mission is CO2 laser

January 20, 2019

Hmm interesting. What I heard from two different practitioners is that (for me) the puffiness would remain unless I dissolved it, even after the normal Juvederm duration, since if you’ve been doing it for several years as I have, it never wears off 100%! I had 0 issues with the Vitrase (hyaluronidase) dissolving any normal tissue and my doctor told me this was sort of a myth (though, I did end up having Juvederm again once the dissolving finished!). That’s just my experience, obviously we are all different! If you are still unhappy after a few months, I’d go to another plastic surgeon and see what they think about dissolving. Just my two cents :) I had such a positive experience that I just want others to be encouraged too! Ha! Good luck :)

SJaykes

January 21, 2019

Thanks so much, you are so right! I have spoken to another doctor who does dissolve and her work looks really good too with dissolving

January 23, 2019

I just had mine dissolved and so glad I did! I was terrified from reading all the scary reviews bc I’m usually the 1% of people that have a terrible reaction. I had ultra plus injected in my lips two years ago and there was still some there. I had ultra injected in December and a large lump appeared above my top lip line- I went to the best dr in Nashville and he said he sees juvederm last many years in a lot of patients. He confirmed it was product and that the latest filler injected moved the initial filler over my top lip creating a lump..best decision ever to dissolve it!!! Go to someone that has lots of experience with Hyaluronidase ...I paid $500 but knew he was the best dr in my area to do it.

January 23, 2019

Yay!! Such good news! It was way less scary than you anticipated, right? It was for me :) So glad we both had such positive experiences, hopefully we can help to encourage others who may be in the same predicament. Are you getting filler redone, or staying natural?

Violet289

January 29, 2019

I can tell you, from personal experience, it certainly isn’t a myth. So all us women on here are liars. I certainly wouldn’t go near a doctor that states hyaluronidase dissolving your own tissue is a myth. There are now studies that state and have proven that hyaluronidase DOES dissolve your own tissues. Unfortunately I’m not allowed to post the links. Google it, you’ll find them. As you said you had more filler after the hyaluronidase, the hyaluronidase will be working at that still, not your own tissue. Update in a few months, apparently filler don’t last as long after hyaluronidase.

January 29, 2019

I definitely am not calling anyone a liar, just sharing my experience and what my doctor told me. I’m allowed to share my positive experience just as you should be able to share your negative one!

Violet289

January 29, 2019

I didn’t say you wasn’t. By your doctor implying that hyaluronidase dissolving your own tissue is a myth; that there called us all liars. You could cause some poor women permanent damage to their face by stating such a false statement. It has now been proven, a fact, that hyaluronidase does damage one’s own tissue if used excessively.

January 29, 2019

To each his own. I’m certainly sorry that you had a bad result, and don’t wish that for anyone.

Violet289

January 29, 2019

Be carful, SJaykes. The first doctor you seen seemed to know more what he was talking about. If you do get hyaluronidase, make sure to check how much they inject and that it’s only a small amount. If Hyaluronidase is used excessively it does dissolve your own hyaluronic acid. That could cause irreversible damage.

January 30, 2019

Yes it was! Thank you for your post because it really helped me- He did it very conservatively and diluted, so i don’t even need to get filler put back in! I probably could dissolve a tiny bit more, but I am happy with not having a large lump anymore.

lw2018

November 24, 2021

Hi! Do you mind sharing who you went to? I’m in the Nashville area as well

January 19, 2019

Hey! This is a great transformation and Im going through something similar! I Had my lips injected twice with juvederm plus (once over the summer) and once again 6 months later a couple weeks ago. My top lip was way too big and the filler settled like above my lip line it looked horrible!!! I finally decided to get it dissolved today with hylenex about 6 hours ago and I'm sad to say I don't see THAT much of a difference :( He used 2 vials of hylenex also! It just didnt seem to do much, or maybe im not giving it enough time? I heard it works rather quickly and swelling has gone down already, but i feel like there is still filler there! How is it possible we used alot of hylenex to dissolve and theres still filler

January 19, 2019

don’t worry, mine took 24 hours before I really started to notice it go down not immediately! full effects within about 48 hours. it’s possible you may need a second treatment (from some things I’ve read), but one was enough for me to fix 5 years of not-great filler in my top lip!! good luck, let me know how it is tomorrow :)

January 19, 2019

Thank you for responding so quickly!! I really hope I notice something . If I could just ask, what did you have in your top lip before you got it dissolved? I had juvederm ultra plus which I just recently found out is a SUPER thick highly cross-linked filler (this would happen to me ugh :/). So I heard that one is harder to dissolve than the other softer fillers like restylane or even just regular juvederm. I feel so dumb I wish I could go back in time and never get this filler. I really never would have if I knew it would make my top lip look so puffy and stupid. Im going back to see the injector on Monday, so if it's not down I'm going to have more dissolved. Love throwing money out the window haha. Anyways, if you don't mind that I ask, how many vials of dissolver did they use? Was it hylenex? My provider also has vitrase.. Im wondering if that will work better. Thanks again so much for answering my annoying questions

January 19, 2019

I’ve had Ultra Plus (twice maybe 3-5 years ago) and then Volurre*, and like you mentioned how Ultra Plus is thick, I think that’s why I had the puffiness! Don’t stress though, it is reversible!! My doctor used Vitrase to dissolve mine, I have no idea how much, just four injections in my top lip and paid I think $150. The 48 hours later it was completely deflated!! I know you feel really sad, but it WILL go down!

January 23, 2019

They had dissolved a tiny bit but the puffy-ness above my lip is still so prominent. I went back twice to have them dissolved and we already used 3 vials of hylenex! I cant believe its still so puffy above my lip I feel so stupid looking. The weird thing is after this last time I had them dissolved my actual top lip looks way smaller, yet theres still puffy-ness above my lip. The injector knew I was specifically upset about this area so he did in fact focus more on that area, injecting almost directly into the puffyness itself. Maybe the next time he should inject into the lip instead of the skin above? I'm not sure. When you have your dissolved to you remember if he injected the hyaluronidase into the skin ABOVE your top lip or was it into the actual lip, or the border? I'm at a loss I literally do not know why this area does not want to dissolve yet my actual lips are dissolved

January 23, 2019

Ugh, I am sorry this issue is so persistent, don’t give up hope though! It’s also possible the hyaluronidase is still taking a bit of time, and maybe you have some initial swelling?? I’m 90% sure that my doctor injected around my vermillion border, not above it. He also had me lightly massage my lip right after to help it spread. If I were you, maybe wait a week or so to see if you can notice any improvement. From my research/understanding, it should definitely able to be dissolved (opposed to permanent, non-HA fillers), so maybe it just will take a lot of hyaluronidase! You could also consider finding another specialist for a second opinion, if that might ease your mind. I have faith you will get this fixed!! Are you going to try filler again after, or just go back natural?

January 23, 2019

Same happened to me. Puffiness/lump above my lip. Had Hyaluronidase injected yesterday and he did 40 units diluted into the vermillion border- he massaged it after and could see it breaking up the lump above my lip. He is extremely knowledgeable about Hyaluronidase and uses it on a daily basis to fix others’ mistakes. I paid $500 - yep, super expensive but he is the best of the best so wasn’t going to take a chance with anyone else.

February 3, 2019

Hey there! Its me again haha, puffy juvederm plus girl. So Ive had so many rounds of hyaluronidase its unbelievable haha. I don't know why its so tough to dissolve on me, I know it's definitely working it just works so selectively, I feel like if they don't inject EXACTLY into the spot that was filled, it's not going to dissolve, and even then it's difficult. Today I had more dissolved and we tried something new we diluted it this time with saline... I was definitely nervous cause I've never had saline injected before and I did swell and but I think the swelling went down. It's been about 2 hours and I cant tell if there's still saline in my lips and it didn't get fully absorbed by my body yet, or if the hyaluronidase just didn't work. Can you describe your experience with having it diluted? Did you swell real bad? And how long did it take for you to notice the saline getting absorbed? I heard Saline injections should only last a few hours.. so hopefully I see some results soon. Thank you again so much!!

January 19, 2019

Thank you for the reassurance! I needed it!!! I'll keep you updated! :)

February 3, 2019

Hey sch1991, do you remember if they happened to dilute the hyaluronidase with saline before injecting? Im still on the struggle bus over here... spending every waking hour self conscious of my lips and thinking about them, when I should be studying (i'm in a really intense graduate program). This is legit affecting everything around me! And it's getting expensive as HECK.