Cheek Fillers

Most fillers will dissolve away and gets broken down by the body into water. However, there are cases that we have seen before with fillers that last much longer that it was intended to. For these cases, the filler had to be dissolved by injecting a dissolver call hyalase which breaks down the filler into water.

Most filler injections are not painful with numbing cream applied. There are some areas which are more sensitive, such as the lips, and can be more uncomfortable. The skill and hands of a doctor also directly contributes to the amount of discomfort. An experienced and gentle doctor can mean much lesser discomfort during the procedure.

Like all medical procedures, there are always potential side effects during injectable procedures.

The more common side effects associated with injections are bruising and swelling. Bruising and swelling happens when a larger blood vessel under the skin gets injured during an injection. If present, bruising and swelling typically goes away after 4-7 days. 

The most serious side effect associated with filler injections is vessel occlusion. Vessel occlusion is when the filler is directly injected into an important blood vessel and blocks blood flow, potentially resulting in skin necrosis and even blindness. 

Some patients have heard about fillers causing blindness, in particular nose fillers. In actual fact, fillers performed at any part of the face can potentially lead to blindness. Blindness happens when the filler material travels up the blood vessel and blocks the blood flow to the optic nerve in the eye. Blindness is more often associated with nose fillers due to the blood vessels supplying the eye being close to the nose. Skin necrosis, which is the dying of skin cells, happens when the blood vessels supplying the area of skin affected gets occluded and blocked.

The risks of skin necrosis and blindness can be greatly reduced with a clear knowledge of the blood vessels in the face. Therefore, it is very important to go to an experienced doctor for filler injections. More than 90% of filler complications happen at illegal salons or beauty parlours which are not authorised to perform such procedures. 

1. Use the appropriate equipment and filler for each area. The type of needle and needle size makes a difference in reducing the risk of vessel damage and occlusion.
2. Specific techniques such as performing a drawback to ensure that the needle is not in a vessel, slow precise injections, and the depth of injections all help ensure that the filler is not being injected into a vessel.
3. Most importantly, a good knowledge of the facial anatomy will allow the doctor to identify the areas where the major blood vessels are. Knowing which area to avoid and which areas are generally safe helps to greatly reduce the risk of injecting the filler into a vessel.

Avoid strenuous exercise and alcohol for at least 24 hours. Avoid any facial massage for at least 2 weeks.