Even though the results of filler will be visible right away, migration can happen almost immediately, with a few days or weeks, or even up to years later in rare circumstances, depending on what the root cause of the issue is. “If overfilling is the culprit, it will be noticeable almost immediately,” says Dr.
It is important all physicians assessing nodules/masses/swelling in the facial area be aware that soft tissue fillers may migrate to a location away from their intended site of injection by several mechanisms and persist in the tissue even years later.
[Injectors are] learning more and more that the filler can travel and migrate to regions outside of the injection site. This can happen months or up to years after the injection."
Over time, as facial movement increases in areas like the lips or cheeks, it causes the filler to break down and dissolve at a quicker rate. This makes the filler disappear faster in more active areas of the face.
Lip filler migration commonly occurs as a result of too much filler being injected into an area and “bleeding” elsewhere.
Before you start overanalyzing your face, the biggest tipoff that your filler has migrated is that there's unnatural fullness in the area. "With lip filler, the upper lip border becomes less defined and a mound develops in the skin above the lip, causing the 'duck lip look,' says Dr. Nichols.
Dr. Frank says the best way to deal with migration is to dissolve the filler with hyaluronidase (an enzyme that breaks down hyaluronic acid gels). In just a few hours, hyaluronidase softens the filler and returns the lips to a more natural shape, projection, and size.
Although extremely rare, dermal fillers are able to migrate within the skin if consistent and adequate pressure is applied to them. For this reason, we advise patients not to get a facial, massage (on the treated skin), or microdermabrasion for the first two weeks following their filler injections.
Because dermal fillers are made of hyaluronic acid, a naturally occurring skin compound, they are naturally dissolved by your body over a period of 6 – 18 months.
Most of the time, HA based fillers (Juvederm, Restylane ) last anywhere from 6 to 18 months. In some individuals, they last a bit shorter or longer. Some other fillers such as Sculptra can last 2 years, but usually that is not a first choice for lip augmentation.
Calcium hydroxylapatite is biosynthetically produced, which means that no animals or animal products are used. This lowers your risk of an allergic reaction and no skin testing is required. This type of dermal filler is known to produce a very natural result, doesn't migrate and side effects are rare.
Very late presentation, over a year after the last injection, can occur in some cases, depending on the location of the injected product and the speed of degradation in that area. Such reactions may occur with any HA dermal filler, but their incidence may vary depending on the manufacturing technology.
Although hyaluronic acid fillers are noted to have higher rates of migration, it is important to note that all injectables have the potential to migrate and naturally have a small degree of displacement and tissue integration after treatment.
If you think your fillers have migrated or you have had a bad filler experience, Dr. Kirby and her injection professionals are able to use hyaluronidase to reverse HA-based fillers.
Unfortunately, having your lip filler dissolved isn't exactly pain-free. Mr Olivier Branford says, "the lips are an extremely sensitive part of the body due to the high number of nerve endings present, so it can be a painful and eye-watering experience."
However, it must be stressed, however, that filler does not migrate from one area of the body to another. What being discussed on social media is simply so-called migration of a few millimeters within the same anatomical regions where it was injected.
Insert your thumb into your mouth and use your index finger to massage the bump in your lip for 2-3 minutes in a circular kneading motion. If that feels uncomfortable, try it in reverse by placing your thumb on the outside of the lip and your index finger inside the mouth.
Using too much dermal filler can distort your face, make it look asymmetric and aesthetically out of balance, and in some cases, it can even make you look older than you actually are.
Dermal filler will not cause the skin to stretch and sag, once the filler naturally breaks down. The only case where this would happen is if the face were to be grossly overfilled with extreme amounts of dermal fillers, which is something we most certainly do not do at Cityskin.
Depending on the filler used, you can enjoy a younger looking face for 2 years but that should depend on your priorities. The results of either of the aforementioned fillers can vary from one person to the next. In other words, you might get better results than those who came before you.
You can spot filler migration as it can give that ducky or “shelf-like” appearance above the lip border. In areas such as the tear-trough, migration can be seen as little lumps and ridges around the lower eye area.
"If there is fullness outside the border of your lips, this is generally a sign that the filler has migrated," adds Dr. Ramanadham. "This can occur if too much was injected or injected incorrectly.
In some cases, the development of chronic nodules and granulomatous inflammation after filler injections can be attributed to bacterial, fungal, polymicrobial, or viral infection. In vitro assays have shown that filler materials, including HA, can support the growth of bacterial biofilms.
Not to worry though, lumps following a filler treatment are completely normal. The lumps you may experience are often caused by swelling and bruising of the treated area. We would not recommend massaging or using force to reduce the lumps yourself, as this may impact your final results.