POSTED UNDER Voluma REVIEWS
Voluma Side Effect Your Injector May Not Be Addressing - Idaho Falls, ID
ORIGINAL POST
There might be a few of you out there that have...
aladamsApril 14, 2015
There might be a few of you out there that have experienced a side effect that has not been reported to you by your injector. As I posted on RealSelf in late 2014/early 2105, I had three nodules on the left side of my face. These nodules occurred in separate incidences over a period of time. At first the nodule was something I could feel but could not see. Then, over the period of a few days the nodule blew up into a large, red and tender soft lump and evolved into a hard like thing that seemed to want to burst through my skin. Does any of this sound familiar to you?
My injector, a well-respected plastic surgeon, rejected out of hand there was any connection between Voluma and my nodules. However, since I have no history of cystic acne and never had a cyst of any kind on my face I knew in my "heart of hearts" that my problem was related to Voluma. Consequently, I lost confidence in my surgeon's ability to treat me properly and so I started to research Google for more information. Very soon I found RealSelf, posted my problem and received quite a few responses. Most of the responses said that Voluma had not been injected improperly. Of these responses, however, only one plastic surgeon really understood my problem because she had a patient who experienced exactly the same thing and it has nothing to do with how the product is injected. This plastic surgeon is Dr. Catherine Durboraw from The Center for Aesthetics in Idaho.
Dr. Durboraw has been on a mission to help patients who have had the same experience (and sometimes much worse) as I did with Voluma. She has done extensive research and her only intention is to make sure that these incidents are diagnosed accurately (which often they are not), treated correctly (which often they are not) and to alert the physician community about this side effect and how she has successfully treated the problem.
Dr. Durboraw even reached out to my plastic surgeon and shared all of her research and treatment plan with him. And, she has done the same with the dermatologist who is currently treating me for this condition. I initially had two treatments of Vitrase given at a lower dosage. The nodule seemed to disappear but within two weeks came back again. I am now receiving more aggressive treatment and have received three additional injections of 120 units of Vitrase in combination with two different broad-spectrum antibiotics, which seem to be working and hopefully will prevent another reoccurrence.
I am very appreciative of Dr. Durboraw's intervention and hope this post is helpful to others who may be suffering from this unusual Voluma side effect.
My injector, a well-respected plastic surgeon, rejected out of hand there was any connection between Voluma and my nodules. However, since I have no history of cystic acne and never had a cyst of any kind on my face I knew in my "heart of hearts" that my problem was related to Voluma. Consequently, I lost confidence in my surgeon's ability to treat me properly and so I started to research Google for more information. Very soon I found RealSelf, posted my problem and received quite a few responses. Most of the responses said that Voluma had not been injected improperly. Of these responses, however, only one plastic surgeon really understood my problem because she had a patient who experienced exactly the same thing and it has nothing to do with how the product is injected. This plastic surgeon is Dr. Catherine Durboraw from The Center for Aesthetics in Idaho.
Dr. Durboraw has been on a mission to help patients who have had the same experience (and sometimes much worse) as I did with Voluma. She has done extensive research and her only intention is to make sure that these incidents are diagnosed accurately (which often they are not), treated correctly (which often they are not) and to alert the physician community about this side effect and how she has successfully treated the problem.
Dr. Durboraw even reached out to my plastic surgeon and shared all of her research and treatment plan with him. And, she has done the same with the dermatologist who is currently treating me for this condition. I initially had two treatments of Vitrase given at a lower dosage. The nodule seemed to disappear but within two weeks came back again. I am now receiving more aggressive treatment and have received three additional injections of 120 units of Vitrase in combination with two different broad-spectrum antibiotics, which seem to be working and hopefully will prevent another reoccurrence.
I am very appreciative of Dr. Durboraw's intervention and hope this post is helpful to others who may be suffering from this unusual Voluma side effect.
UPDATED FROM aladams
Status Report - Voluma Side Effect Your Injector May Not Be Addressing
aladamsApril 25, 2015
Good news! It has been three weeks since my last visit with my dermatologist and the nodule is now gone and so far I have not had a reoccurrence. I am still cautious and returning to my doctor for a follow up next week because these nodules are very tricky and sometimes they return. If anything further develops I will post again. If any of you want Dr. Durboraw's contact information, she has given me permission to provide it. Final comment - RealSelf is a wonderful site for all sorts of information. Without the wonderful information and doctor's who did reach out to me to help I would still be desperately trying to find someone who could help me from a possible disfigurement to my face.
Replies (11)
April 25, 2015
By the way this whole thing with the three nodules started in the fall. So, those of you who have this problem don't give up.
April 26, 2015
Whoo hoo!!! That is great news! I'm so happy, and relieved, for you!!! Thank you again for sharing and keep us posted on how you're doing!
June 5, 2015
I had the same issue. It resolved over time. I would not use voluma again and I tell others to think it over as well.
June 24, 2015
I don't yet know of anyone who had a serious problem with a 5 star doctor on healthgrades.com but even that is just one piece of the practitioner-screening pie. If any procedure goes wrong with a doctor who is at least adequate, it's probably rare and the cause not on the side of the doctor but something from the patient's side. I've read about multiple people lying to their doctors about smoking, patients bending forward within a few days of eyelid surgery, removing bandaging long before the doctor gives the okay..., it's disgusting. Also sometimes your own body reacts badly to something related to the surgery. This is often blamed because many patients do not want to consider blaming either the doctor or themselves. It seems many more people blame poor healing and other "bio quirks" than should really be the case. Many people are still having things done by less than 5 star doctors or doctors who are not experienced enough with the particular procedure on the specific area of the body. Less than adequate results should not count as experience. And I don't know of a 5 star doctor who will do a procedure without enough experience. Those doctors normally refer to another doctor who has the experience. Many people are simply still not properly screening doctors. I still research many of the doctors people have had bad results with and find they have many serious complaints online. Another problem is patients not being willing to travel farther or pay more for an adequate doctor. aladams is right for saying to not give up. If nothing is able to be found currently, perhaps in the future there will be. Hopelessness is the worst thing.
June 25, 2015
Thank you for your comment. It is really important to do a lot of research on the doctor before you select one . It is equally important to make sure that the doctor has all the information he/she needs on your health. Sometimes even if you have the best of doctors, have good health and spend the dollars needed for a good outcome "stuff happens" and that is why they have consent forms. However, having said that I have an expectation that my doctor will work with me to find a solution. Unfortunately, I had to look elsewhere to get a good result because my doctor did not want to take responsibility to help find a solution to my problem. Thanks goodness I had Real Self as a resource. The doctors who responded as well as many of the subscribers were really supportive and extremely helpful.
UPDATED FROM aladams
Final Status Report - Voluna Side Effect Your Injector May Not Be Addressing
aladamsJune 7, 2015
Hello everyone and thanks for all the comments. I want to report that I continue to be free of any reoccurrence with the nodules to the left side of my face that resulted from the Voluma injections. It does seem that more injectors are starting to understand that these nodules can occur and hopefully they are including this as a side effect in the literature provided to prospective patients. This is also the goal of Dr. Catherine Durboraw (including a way to treat this problem) who reached out to me from this website to help. I will continue to reply to any questions asked but do not need to report any further status reports. Enjoy your summer.
Replies (22)
June 12, 2015
That's great news, thank you so much for sharing! What sort of advice did she offer on how to treat the nodules?
June 12, 2015
Are you able to read my replies to comments I received as I believe I have mentioned what she recommended.
June 24, 2015
Thanks for sharing your harrowing experience with Voluma. Luckily, my cheeks did not react this way. Instead of getting more temporary & expensive fillers, I've decided to go to Korea for full facial fat grafting.
June 27, 2015
How did you decide on Korea instead of somewhere in Latin America where I've read it is done often and well, such as Argentina?
June 27, 2015
I am not seeking care outside the U.S. Your comment must be in relation to what mamanx2 posted on June 24 as a comment to me.
June 27, 2015
Because my features are between Asian & Caucasian ones & I've found that western-trained cosmetic surgeons don't understand , know how to enhance or truly appreciate non-white aesthetics. I'm NOT accusing them of deliberate racism; it's more s matter of minimal experience & divergent beauty standards.
A doctor I just consulted, wanted to add jaw angle implants & make my chin more prominent (like Angelina Jolie did). No woman of my background would EVER want this!
A doctor I just consulted, wanted to add jaw angle implants & make my chin more prominent (like Angelina Jolie did). No woman of my background would EVER want this!
June 29, 2015
You are right, I was. Thanks for noting the correction for me as I'm still curious about that.
July 12, 2015
I am so glad to hear that your issues resolved successfully. Can you share with us all what you and your doctors have determined was the cause, and which treatments were effective in the end? It would be good to know if this was an inflammatory response, rejection of the filler by your body, infection, poor placement, underlying auto-immune disease, or some oer issue entirely. It would help us all to know what your thoughts are given the long time you spent dealing with it. Thank you and congrats.
August 13, 2015
Sorry for the late response. I have had other fillers for over a few years and have never had an adverse reactions. When I had this incident the plastic surgeon who did the injection rejected that it was any kind of reaction to Voluma. The physician who ultimately treated me had heard of such an occurrence but it appeared to be rare and he had never treated anyone for the condition. However, a surgeon who read my post reached out to me and provided me with information as to how she was treating this issue, which I passed along to the treating doctor. High doses of Valtrese in a series of weekly visits building the dosage over a period of time plus a round of antibiotics did remedy the condition. So far I have not had any further nodules but I won't be using Voluma again. The treating physician was not sure exactly sure of the proximate cause. He ruled out poor placement and allergy. He did think it was an usual occurrence although he had heard something about this problem and I was the first patient he had treated for the condition. The physician who was the most helpful, as I mentioned previously, had read my post and reached out to me. She has given me permission to provide her name and a telephone number to anyone who has reached out to me through this platform. Her name is Dr. Catherine Durboraw at 208-521-4176. By the way I had several conversations with her and she ultimately talked to the plastic surgeon who was the injector and the doctor who treated me (all at no cost to me)about the protocol she had been using to treat the nodules. I have never had a doctor who was as gracious to me in my entire life. Anyway, good luck to you.
August 13, 2015
I'm so glad you are better now. Luckily I did not have this happen with Voluma- but had other issues & regret the Voluma. Sticking with Radiessse in the future.
Replies (47)
Hi wijody,
All excellent questions. In addition to asking the community, you may also like to ask our community of doctors. Go to Ask a Doctor and post your question.
Good luck!