We often hear stories about women being hospitalized for injections gone wrong-typically at the hands of untrained individuals posing as doctors. One recent report could be the first documented case of heart (right ventricular) failure as a result of silicone injections.
Not to be confused with silicone breast implants, which the Food and Drug Administration approved for breast augmentation, liquid silicone injections are not FDA-approved for any cosmetic treatment anywhere on the body. Risks associated with these injections include lumps that frequently cannot be corrected, infection, skin ulceration and deadly blood clots. “Silicone injections have had a disastrous history,” says La Jolla, CA, plastic surgeon Robert Singer, MD. “We still see women facing serious consequences from these injections that they received abroad in places such as Mexico and Asia, and unfortunately from practitioners, often, but not always non-physicians, in places like Florida, California and New York.”
But silicone isn’t the only problem. Going to an unlicensed, untrained and unqualified individual is a risk in and of itself. “Only core-trained, board-certified plastic surgeons, facial plastic surgeons, ophthalmic plastic surgeons and dermatologists should be performing FDA-approved injectable cosmetic treatments,” Dr. Singer says. They should also limit the injections to the anatomical areas encompassed in their formal supervised training. Anyone operating out of a home or hotel room doesn’t fit that description, and anyone who talks only about the benefits of injections and not the risks is a red flag. Do your homework and look for board-certified doctors practicing in accredited medical facilities.
