Dermal filler issues, lip lumps or lip concerns following facial aesthetics are not unusual. Sometimes it can be instant, sometimes it can be delayed. Dermal filler can be a fantastic non invasive way of enhancing areas of the face, but it can also be extremely complicated and dangerous. The ability to be able to dissolve and remove is a crucial part of the treatment plan and patient consent. But dissolving filler is a complex process…..
“Dissolve and fill on the same day”
Have you seen this advertised? Maybe you thought, ‘interesting, my lips could do with a reset’, or
even ‘this lump is annoying, I’d like to dissolve and redo them’ or even ‘how convenient, I can have
them dissolved, then on the same day have them refilled again!’. The whole ‘I cant cope with having
no lips for weeks’ is a thing of the past, right? Well, think again……
Let’s first talk about what is used to dissolve fillers. We use an enzyme called Hyaluronidase (Hyalse).
The way it works is by breaking down the hyaluronic acid that has been injected (the dermal filler). This
can be used in any part of the body where dermal fillers have been injected. Before we can attempt to
dissolve, we normally do a patch test on a patient to see if we get any allergic reactions.
So you may want to dissolve for the following reasons:
- Unhappy with results and wish to remove totally
- A number of treatments over a period of time, which may include poor
aesthetics, lumps and filler migration - Lumps or bumps
- Emergency reversal (a blocked vessel! Yikes)
This may not happen in one appointment, and will totally depend on the amount of filler and type of filler injected. High cross-linked and g-prime fillers (thicker fillers) may take more than one session to achieve the desired outcome. Not only that, certain medical factors can affect the efficacy of the Hyalse injected, such as aspirin takers or antihistamines.
As the filler is dissolved, so is the natural hyaluronic acid created by the body within the treated area. So for example, when dissolving lip filler (or any dermal filler), not only will this take away the injected filler (hopefully), the natural plumpness will also be reduced. But dont panic, our body is a clever old thing and it will start to create its own collagen once more. This can take around 2 weeks to start, and can take up to 2-3 months post treatment.
So as you can see, I don’t understand how clinics can advertise same day dissolving and refiling. All the training I have received, which includes level 7 in facial aesthetics, tells us that Hyalse generally takes 24/48 hours to work. However, the unfortunate issue is that not only will it dissolve your dermal filler, it will also take away your natural Hyaluronic acid, therefore we allow a minimum of 2 weeks, ideally up to 4 weeks until we retreat the area. So for example, a lip dissolving treatment should not be touched for a minimum of 2 weeks following the dissolving appointment. If you are injecting dermal filler the same day, it will just be dissolved alongside the natural collagen of the lips. Not only that, it’s a lot of trauma to receive in one session, with the placement of the hyalase and dermal filler, if your practitioner is using a needle also, you could be creating alot of potential scar tissue in one appointment, which in turn will make your lips feel hard and lumpy.
Please chose your practitioner wisely