Experts Share Beauty Treatments Gone Wrong

Tummy Tuck Terror

“A patient came for a consult with me after having a ‘tummy tuck’ by an unqualified surgeon, which left her with misplaced scars that ruined the appearance of her abdomen. When I reviewed her before-and-after photos, I realized that a pre-existing tattoo near her belly button had not moved at all after her surgery, indicating that her abdominal skin was never actually tightened. Thankfully, this was a repairable situation, but I had to explain that she had sadly undergone a sham surgery, which had done nothing except create unwanted scars.” – Robert Cohen, plastic surgeon

Filler That Makes Skin Look Blue

“At least once a month, someone comes to see me to correct filler under their eyes (injected by another doctor) that has turned their skin blue. It’s usually because the product is being injected too superficially or the wrong filler is used. If hyaluronic acid fillers were originally used, they can usually be reversed with hyaluronidase, which acts like an antidote.”  – Rebecca Baxt, dermatologist

A Puffy Pucker

“Many patients I see are overfilled or have filler placed in the wrong area. Luckily, most of these patients had injections with hyaluronic acid fillers. In particular, one patient had filler in her lips (by another dermatologist) for lip augmentation. She developed multiple lumps and her lips were asymmetrical. Fortunately, this was easily corrected with hyaluronidase (a product that melts fillers) and another procedure was performed to restore her lips.” – Gary Goldenberg, dermatologist

Irritated by Ingredients

“I have many patients come to me for help with sudden allergies and sensitivities to products. Product companies are not required to notify consumers if they have added ingredients or changed formulations. If a reaction to an ingredient is going to develop, it takes time initially to become sensitized, and upon each subsequent exposure, that time is decreased. It is advised to use patch testing to check for allergic reactions. If an allergy is noted, an alternative product not containing the allergen will be recommended.” – Kristine A. Romaine, dermatologist

Lip Overload

“I had a patient who, after injections of Juvederm in her lips and nasolabial folds, became swollen. There was no bruising, bleeding, pain or redness—just a swollen upper lip. Luckily, her lips resolved on their own over a few days. I believe the swelling was due to blockage of the lymph vessels from her lips, and when this resolved and the swelling went down, she looked great. I still see her for injections, but we have not done her lips again. I think she’s still a bit freaked out!” – Joseph Grzeskiewicz, plastic surgeon

Botched Boobs

“One of my patients had a breast augmentation done by an nonboard certified ‘cosmetic surgeon’. Within 60 days, she developed severe scar tissue, making her breasts hard, asymmetrical and painful. She also had a really hard time finding tops to wear that could totally cover her up. Her original doctor did not offer her any reasonable solutions to her problem. I removed her implants and performed a reconstruction, and she is now doing much better.” – Andrew Smith, plastic surgeon

A Broken-Down Smile

“I had a female patient in her early 50s who had orthodontic treatments three times before getting veneers and crowns, which her previous dentist had made bulky and large. Because her upper teeth were so big, they moved her lower teeth. This also forced her bite to collapse, which lead to a loss of support on her front teeth and pressure on her back teeth. She had cracked, broken molars and couldn’t chew food properly. We had to do a full-mouth rehabilitation, which allowed me to create a healthy, natural-looking smile that functioned well. She ended up with the perfect smile for her face.” – Niloufer Hamsayeh, dentist

Hard-to-Remove Lumps and Bumps

“Recently, I had a patient who had six syringes of hyaluronic acid filler injected into her cheek by another doctor. She formed a disfiguring reaction that had persisted for two years without any success in dissolving them. We were fortunate to finally dissolve them with a combination of enzymes, steroids and antibiotics to get her cheek looking normal again.” – Hooman Khorsani, dermatologist

Red, Inflamed Gums

“A patient came to me who had four porcelain veneers done a few months before and was experiencing bleeding gums and pain around the veneers. Her gums were severely inflamed and the tissue around the veneers was badly damaged. The veneers were also dull and discolored and the patient was not satisfied. I removed the veneers using our erbium laser and cleaned up her gums with our YAG laser before placing four brand-new handmade porcelain veneers. In the end, the veneers looked natural and beautiful and her gums healed to a perfect pink color.” – Zachary Linhart, dentist