Injectables and fillers can easily correct the signs of aging, but these treatments, as well as surgical procedures, can also produce unwanted problems. “With all procedures, there are risks,” says Beverly Hills, CA, plastic surgeon Babak Azizzadeh, MD. “Those risks are greater in the hands of practitioners who do not understand the anatomy of the face and body or those who lack adequate training.” Avoid becoming a case study of surgery gone wrong—know the most common mishaps, why they happen and how to fix them.
Caused By: Using the wrong fillers and injection techniques (avoid this by finding an ExpertInjector).
What it Looks Like: Large lumps and bumps. This condition got its name because if the filler hardens, it can appear as a lump, the size of a ping-pong ball, under the skin.
Why it Happens: The product does not fully integrate into the tissue and gathers into a hard ball, either because the filler shifts, too much filler is injected, the wrong filler is injected into the wrong areas or the wrong injection technique is used. Oftentimes, the hardness is due to non-FDA-approved fillers, like silicone, being injected into the face. It’s important that the thickness of your skin is always taken into consideration; certain fillers work better according to the degree of skin thickness.
How to Avoid It: Aside from using the right filler in the right areas, Fairfax, VA, plastic surgeon Victoria Suh, MD, says massaging it at the time of injection is important as it deposits the product properly, diminishing the risk of lumps and bumps.
How to Reverse It: The type of filler and where it is used dictates whether the effects can be reversed or not. Free silicone has to be surgically excised; hyaluronic acid fillers can be “melted away” with hyaluronidase; longer-lasting fillers must be broken up by using a needle under the skin, or surgically removed.
