It Works but Results Can Be SCARY!! - New York

KP72, let's wait and see. I have been in touch with two people who have slightly more positive predictions. One is someone who was injected with this horrid enzyme and one a doctor who knows it quite well. Both of them told me independently that the skin can recover from hyalase but takes 3-4 months. so let's give it a bit of time before we totally freak out! i am annoyed as i have avoided smoking of any ageing things like suntanning my face and have always taken care of my skin only be injected by this enzyme which has created crepey skin and discolouration. if it's not better in a few months i'll be having carboxy therapy and maybe a deep TCA peel to try and improve the situation. wishing you good luck, and let's keep each other informed as the time passes. for me it has been just over one month. take care and don't be too pessimistic! xx

I will try to stay positive but I confess I am really struggling with it. My eyes look terrible and there is no disguising it. Best of luck to you too. Please keep me updated. x

hang in there and let's both hope it does get better! will stay in touch xx

ps. how much enzyme did they put under your eyes? mine had 20 units under each. though i am told that is a small amount i believe it was too much. i believe that docs should begin with MICRO amounts. like 1 unit. at MOST 5 units. I found one study which recommended only 1 unit. but docs are putting up to 1500!!! insane

I think the dilution ratio of hyaluronidase with saline is just as important as the actual amount. Was it strong or weak or what? What is the recommended dilution ratio? Nobody ever seems to mention that. There seems to be no standard dilution ratio for dissolving filler and no consensus as to what constitutes weak or strong for this off-label purpose. Similarly, I don't think there is a standard "unit". Again, it is just guessing. The brand - Vitrase, Hylenex etc - also seems to make a difference. So many variables that comparisons become so difficult. The dilution ratio I had was supposedly very weak. I think she said 0.125ml of enzyme to1ml of saline. I would have to check. The brand was Hylenex. I only had four small injections of 1 "unit" each and it still did an awful lot if damage under my eyes. I don't really have any frame of reference as to what the amount, dilution and brand means. All I know is that the skin around my eyes easily looks 15-20 years older than the rest of my face. Hence the fake glasses. Do you know the brand, amount and dilution ratio of hyaluronidase you had?

i have no idea what the dilution ration was. and don't really ever feel like speaking with that doctor again, so i won't ever know... but you are right, docs know jack [RS bleep] about this stuff that they happily inject and even RECOMMEND without telling of the AGING effects. it's disgusting. anyway, seems like you had a really small amount. try and be positive and do everything you can to regrow the collagen there, i am hoping it gets better (but don't let anyone near your skin with a laser!) xx

Could it be that the only way to tighten up loose skin from hyaluronidase is to add more hyaluronic acid filler? Could that be the only answer? I feel that the replacement filler did not really take properly after the dissolving and it probably needs more. Is your replacement filler holding up?

you could be onto something here. i read one study which suggest the hyalase is still working in the skin up to a month later. i have had 3 syringes of resty injected since the hyalase so far - the first two did not take well, but slowly it's building up/ i had another touch up yesterday.

the loose skin can also be tightened i think with a TCA peel

I have an appointment with a new doctor on 5 September. I am going to ask her to request my medical notes from the doctor who dissolved the filler. You might want to consider the same some time in the future when the opportunity arises. It's always good to know exactly what happened.

ps. do not get more juvederm!!! the resty swells more at first (few days) but settles down fine, juverderm attracts way too much water long term and is just plain weird under the eyes

Aahh! I am nervous about my appointment in a couple of weeks but I definitely think I need more filler in the tear troughs. Where did you have the three syringes of restylane? Surely not all under the eyes? I think I need some in the tear troughs and some in the mid face. Unsurprisingly this is exactly where the hyaluronidase was injected.

I will certainly take your advice on that. I already have AWFUL volbella under the eyes so I need some restylane to cover it up. I am really dreading getting the filler done because of the swelling and possible bruising. I have gone to work looking so weird over the past two months including three black eyes! It's so embarrassing. How many times have you had more filler since the dissolving?

yes, i had 3 syringes all under the eyes. and it's still not right. if i am brutally honest because of the discoloration in addition to puffiness and dents it looks worse than before i started dissolving the juvederm. was hoping resty would stay in its place without migrating and swelling but it does not behave as well as i hoped. hope you are having a better experience. btw if you bruise just insist on PDL or N/D yag on very low setting after 24 hours of injection - it resolves the bruise in one day

Wow 3 syringes is a lot for under the eyes. Today I had 1/4 syringe of Juvederm Ultra under each eye. It has helped but it is still not right. I am going back in a couple of weeks for the remainder of the syringe. I don't think it will ever be right and that's due to the hyaluronidase. It is a nightmare. I also got a referral to a plastic surgeon for a blepharoplasty, which I would like next year. I am so angry at the irresponsible doctor who dissolved they five year old filler under my eyes without my consent. I would not be in this unhappy predicament if she had left my poor eyes alone.

Oh and the doctor from today agreed that Volbella is a RUBBISH product that should not be used either in tear troughs or lips. The new Volbella and Volift were rapidly developed for financial reasons. Apparently Allergan does not own the rights to the hyalucross technology it uses for cross linking HA in Juvederm so it has to pay royalties on every syringe sold. Allergan rushed Volbella and Volift to the market because it uses vycross technology for cross linking the HA and Allergan does own the rights to this technology so it pays no royalties on the new products. Allergan is pushing Volbella and Volift because they are more profitable even though they are inferior products to Juvederm Ultra etc. Some people are also developing "beading" from Volbella in tear troughs because the product does not stay together properly and separates over time. Long term, you will probably be grateful you had your Volbella dissolved. I hope that the layer of Juvederm I had put over the Volbella today will be enough to camouflage any problems that develop from the Volbella.

How are you all doing now? Recovered? I'm suffering as well, but from Restylane filler... I had one round of hyaluronidase but it didn't help. I'm still left with a gray/purple discolouration under my right eye 2+ years later. I'm so depressed

I am so sorry to hear of your nightmare and I feel your pain. I believe that hyaluronidase permanently damages/ dissolves natural tissue if filler has been used in that area. I consider that the only way to disguise the damage from hyaluronidase is to put in more more filler so I understand your decision to have some restylane replaced. Do you think your damage would ever have improved on its own?

Oh and I am trying to find ThermiSmooth in Australia but no luck! It really sounds like it worked for you to produce at least some improvement. I wonder if it is called something different here...

No, it's permanent, the infection left discoloration which I will have to do fraxel for and the granuloma will not go away but it is flatter than the large lump I had before. They can take years and that would be on the lucky side, it also was too long before I got rid of it. I would have ended up in the hospital on IV to try and treat it if these IM shots didn't work. I never signed a waiver or was told of any problems with Voluma. I may have been an unusual case but I don't really care, I want a doctor who knows what to do and had one other one before I found my current one who got me right in and had a plan of action right away. I saw so many doctors and all they kept saying is how bad it was and that it will be very hard to treat which none of them wanted to inherit another doctors mess. I will be forever grateful to her for the kindness she has shown and the fact that she's a genius, always helps. Thanks for your kind words and hope you are doing better. Every doctor said the HA will not harm you and that it doesn't take your natural collagen away, it will just target the filler but they are wrong. All of us can't be making this up and wish there were enough of us to do a class action suit against these companies to insist they change their little pamplets saying how it is 1,2,3 no problem to reverse the fillers, well I say 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 didn't work for me!

I am not sure if they have it there but honestly for the money, I wouldn't say it was worth it. I had to do everything to try and flatten it out and although it helped, I think $1500 is a lot, it's 3 sessions and it can take a few months to really see the difference. I will keep updating if I see a big improvement

Thank you for the information. I am beyond devastated by what has happened and I don't know where to turn. My whole life has changed.

I feel so bad for you and have cried more tears in the last 6 months than the last 20 years. I haven't seen your photos but I know it doesn't matter what anyone else says, although my family saw how bad it was and couldn't pretend. I was really scared that I could end up in serious trouble since an infection in your face is the worst place to have one. You will have some improvement with time but I wouldn't use Juvederm under the eyes, Restylane is the best for the tear troughs. I had Voluma and Restylane and the original doctor said the lump was from the Voluma. After 2 syringes of Restylane, there is some improvement but the lima bean is still there. I am going to have to have lower eyelid surgery because of all the damage. I am sure there is something similar to the thermismooth there. I know there are 100 different lasers and maybe that can help. I am going to have fraxel because I have a lot of discoloration where the infection was. The problem is there aren't a whole lot of options and they inject these fillers like it is nothing and downplay the possibility of an adverse reaction. I can't believe your doctor did this without your consent. Please keep updating on your progress.

Thank you very much for your care and concern. I will admit that at 10 weeks in I am struggling. Nobody could pretend they couldn't see my bad result either. I will send you a private email with some photos. The appearance under my eyes from dissolving the old filler was so bad I had to call in sick from work for a week until it could be refilled. The refill didn't work and I went to work with a black eye. I also had to stay at my mother's house because I did not want my husband's daughters to see me. My mother saw me thirty minutes after the appointment and together we watched my eye lids literally fall apart. I am on the IVF program to try to have my first baby at 41. In the past three years I have had 5 miscarriages and one failed IVF cycle. I had the Voluma to make myself feel better after the failed IVF cycle. What a mistake. I look horrible - round, fat, featureless face with pushed in eyes. And then a week later it swelled up so much that I looked like a cat. It was so obvious and I was so embarrassed about turning up to work that I went back and asked for a small amount of the cheeks to be dissolved to try to reduce the swelling. I had not been sleeping from all the stress. I was clearly in a panic at the appointment. While I was vulnerable and frightened, the doctor took the opportunity to dissolve old filler under my eyes that she said bothered HER. I did not ask for it to be dissolved. I did not want it to be dissolved. The stress and misery and anger about what happened to me has shut my body down and I cannot continue with the IVF programme at this time. Stress dramatically affects hormones, which I suppose is no surprise. I try so hard to keep doing things because I don't want my family to be affected but my heart just isn't in it. I look ridiculous. I feel ridiculous. And the only outlet I really have is this website to express my pain and fear. I am afraid. I would give anything for it not to have happened. Thank you very much again for listening. I think I will just give my poor eyes a rest for a while and bide my time for a blepharoplasty. I honestly don't even know what a surgeon would do to fix this mess. I share your disbelief and your anger. I know this site makes me feel a little less alone and I hope it does the same for you.

I had hyaloronidase injected yesterday because the Juvederm injections in my upper eyelid seemed to move and there were two what seemed like liquid filled bumps on my eye. My eye looked terrible . According to my Dr (injected 2 weeks ago with the filler), he seemed to think the filler moved since it was looked fine when first injected. My eye looks good 24hrs later with no problems/reactions. Actually, it looked better 10 minutes later. From what I read, I would go to someone familiar with using hyalouronic acid and Juvederm and preferably an ocular plastic surgeon. I never usually comment but I'm hoping you think about trying to resolve it after you do some research. Some people do have good luck with hyaloronidase.

That's certainly true if you read the reviews but it's hit and miss. Find someone VERY experienced in dissolving. Also your skin will have been stretched after 4 years so expect some looseness. It's a bit like popping a water balloon.

2.5 years AND one round of hyaluronidase and I still have gray discolouration after Restylane under my eyes, it looks horrible and has made me borderline suicidal. I've heard of fillers lasting 8+ years under the eyes. That this is temporary and safe is just [RS bleep]! There are so many people having their lives ruined over this product!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the replacement filler has not cured the negative impacts, especially the loose and crepey skin. It has only disguised the indent along the tear trough and not much more. Awful.

how long ago did you have the hyalase? some people say your body eventually restores itself... i hope that is true as i have the same bad effects as you. this stuff is NOT made for delicate areas like around the eyes...

About six weeks ago. How long ago did you have the filler dissolved?

about a month now. apparently we should wait about 4 months, the skin texture may come back to something resembling normal... in the meantime i am doing quite vigorous facial massage to build collagen... and will also be looking out for collagen supplements.

I absolutely hate my refill along the indent. She used the new Allergan HA filler called Volbella which actually glows neon white in refracted light. I assume that it is this product's version of the Tyndall effect. It looks terrible but I'm stuck with it as I can't have the filler dissolved again. I would be surprised if the skin tone and texture comes back after the hyaluronidase but I will cross my fingers for us both.

i had volbella - not a good idea, i had it dissolved. that is what led to my current situation. i found volbella did not actually fill the indent but sort of spread around and gave me a puffy tyndall effect. at least yours is white, mine was bluish purple, but after the hyalase it's not much better... seems worse, though at least the volbella puffiness seems to have reduced. and yes i also have the crepey skin. awful. considering a tca peel...

I am seeing someone new tomorrow. He is an oral maxillofacial surgeon and a cosmetic surgeon. He does fillers also. I have a depressed upper jaw which is why I have dark circles in the first place. I am considering adding a thin layer of restylane to the tear trough to give the area some structure. I can't have it dissolved again. I won't survive it. When I say the volbella is white, I mean it is bright white like a neon glow-in-the dark stripe. It shows up in refracted light. I am hoping the restylane might cover it. I really do not know what to do now. This is a nightmare of indecision because I know the doctors really don't know. All filler results are hit and miss. Under the eyes a miss lasts years. I did not consent to the filler under my eyes being dissolved by the previous doctor. She did it because she wanted to not because I asked her to. I am making a complaint.

Unfortunately the new doctor was not helpful. He said I am out of his area of expertise. Probably correct. Nobody wants to address somebody else's mistakes. I am going to have the thin layer of restylane put over the volbella. It's my last procedure before I just give up and put up with it. The fake glasses are really my only saviour.