Filler Dissolving Treatment

Celebrity culture has both popularised and demonised fillers, and many people now mistakenly associate fillers with overly plumped, pillowy faces, ‘trout pouts’ and ‘duck lips’. There is no denying the impact the Kardashian’s have had on the use of dermal fillers.

If you have had filler treatments and are no longer happy with how they look. Or you have been to a practitioner who was maybe not so adequately trained and you have lumps of nodules, or filler migration, you may wish to dissolve your filler.

In the correct, highly-skilled, highly-qualified hands, this can be done using an enzyme called hyaluronidase, or Hyalase, which is a prescription-only medicine. This enzyme is injected where the filler has been placed and dissolves it, leaving the area free of hyaluronic acid filler.

If you wish to have the area re-filled, you would need to wait at least two weeks before having further filler placed in the area treated with hyaluronidase.

Hyalase/hyaluronidase is a prescription-only medicine. The potential side-effects and risks of filler dissolving treatments can be significant. It is important that you see a medical practitioner for filler dissolving treatments.

This only works for hyaluronic acid-based fillers.

This Glowday Treatment Guide has been edited and medically verified by Dr Charlotte D'Souza.

Depending on the area being injected, the type of filler being used and the pain relief method being used, clients may find this procedure relatively painless to uncomfortable. Treatments around the nose, lips and tear trough area (under the eyes) are usually more painful than other areas but most clients find filler dissolving treatments as bearable as the initial filler treatment.

You must discuss pain management options with your practitioner and let them know if you are finding the procedure too uncomfortable.

The obvious, immediate and most common side effect is slight bleeding after the needle has been inserted into the skin.

Other risks include bruising, tenderness, redness and swelling around the injection site. These signs may take 2-7 days to vanish completely, especially around the lips where there is little flesh and skin is tender.

Hyalase (hyaluronidase) breaks down hyaluronic acid fillers, but it can also break down naturally occurring hyaluronic acid present in the body, so the results can be unpredictable and the effect dramatic.

There may well be loss of volume and some skin laxity which in itself may not provide a good aesthetic result. This often corrects itself as your own hyaluronic acid is regenerated 2-3 months later.

Rarely, allergic type reactions can occur after a filler dissolving treatment. In very rare cases, these can be severe or even fatal if not quickly and adequately treated. Signs of an allergic reaction include prolonged redness, swelling, itching and/or hardness, bumps in the skin. Such signs may appear at some or all injection points or in the general area the hyaluronidase has been injected. If you have allergic-type reactions to bee and wasp stings, you are more likely to have a reaction to hyaluronidase.

If you experience difficulty breathing, it is indicative of an anaphylactic reaction and you should seek medical help immediately.

As with any skin treatment, injections should be avoided in areas where the skin is swollen or where infections are present - e.g. active acne. Medically-qualified practitioners will be able to advise on treatments to manage such conditions prior to any filler dissolving treatments.

If you have a history of cold sores, or fever blisters in the treated area, injections may result in break outs. In this case, your practitioner may recommend that you take a course of anti-viral medicine before treatment.

No medical practitioner would carry out a filler dissolve treatment on a pregnant woman.

You should wait at least 2 weeks before undergoing any new dermal filler treatments. This is to ensure that any swelling and bruising has subsided. Also, if you have treatments too soon, hyaluronidase will dissolve your new filler too.