Lumpy Lips After Filler: What do I do?

 
Nurse Sandra is interviewed about what to do with lumpy lips after filler injection
 
 
A Lip enhancement is one of the most requested treatments that we receive at The Manse. What’s not to love about lucious, well defined lips. There are a few factors that aren’t as promoted about this treatment but commonly do occur, one being lumpy lips. The good news is
they are common and often can be treated with simple at home remedies.

Why do lumps occur?

If we look at what’s actually involved in any injectable dermal filler procedure, we are injecting a  gel solution into a facial feature to enhance and
volumize it. Often a gel substance will not sit even and flat, therefore lumps are quite common to occur even when the practitioner has done all the right things and placed the product in the right plane. Lumps quite often present in the first four weeks post treatment, and can be massaged
daily after the first week if they are noticed. More often they can be felt rather than seen.
Your practitioner may ask you to massage yourself after the first week of treatment, or may ask you to come back to the clinic for them to perform a
massage. It is commonly advised to perform a firm 20 second massage under the shower, as the lips are softer at that time.
 

Are Lumps Common after Dermal Filler

 
Lumps are a common occurrence post filler treatment and usually settle on their own. They are
usually more pronounced during the initial four weeks post treatment, as swelling is present.
The most common lumps we tend to see post treatment can improve with massage, as
instructed by your practitioner. Less commonly, very superficial lumps can occur which requires
further treatment to resolve.
 

Superficial Lumps

When the lumps are more superficial, massaging them may or may not help. Superficial lumps may occur if the filler was injected in a very superficial plane or if it moves into the superficial plane from a deeper injection site.
 

Options for Treatment of lumps

Option 1 Massage

Daily Massage is the first option which should be tried. As discussed, 20 seconds of firm massage in the shower may be recommended.

Option 2: Further Filler

Re-treatment is sometimes recommended four weeks post to even out the area. If the patient needs more filler in the area, then this may be the preferred option.

Option 3: Manual Extraction

Another option for removal of lumpiness is manual extraction. We would usually recommend to perform this at a minimum of 4 weeks after injection to give the swelling time to settle and to give daily massage an opportunity to resolve the lumpiness or for the lumpiness to resolve itself.

Manual extraction is the preference as the default treatment for lumps compared with hyalase, as it is lower risk (eg no risk of allergies) and more targeted ie it will remove the lump itself and shouldn’t remove the filler around the lump

Option 4. Injection of Dissolver

Rarely a filler dissolver, hyalase may be required to spot- dissolve. This treatment is very uncommon and can only be properly assessed after four weeks as swelling can often impact the appearance of the area.
 
Dissolving the superficial lumps may impact the product placed in other areas of the lip, so usually a very small and precise injection point is used to minimize this from occurring.
 
 
THE MANSE