r/Hyaluronidase

Anyone have foreign body granuloma from filler/unsuccessful dissolving? I’ve had 3 unsuccessful dissolves after Juvederm and I’m pretty sure I’ve developed a foreign body granuloma. How were you diagnosed/treated?

Hi everyone
Did anyone try GHK-CU Injectibles for Hyaluronidase damage? I’ve spent countless hours researching possible treatments, reading through forums and studies, and even had long discussions with ChatGPT about the potential biological mechanisms behind hyaluronidase damage and possible therapies. GHK-Cu is by far the most promising approach I’ve come across so far, at least from a theoretical perspective, and it honestly gives me a lot of hope.
Please take a moment to read this 🙏🏼

This is what ChatGPT summarized about why it could potentially help:

"If hyaluronidase disrupts the extracellular matrix (ECM), fibroblasts may receive abnormal signals and become “stuck” in a less regenerative remodeling state.

Altered ECM → altered fibroblast behavior → altered ECM → altered fibroblast behavior
=Negative Remodeling Loop

The idea behind GHK-Cu is that it could theoretically interrupt this cycle.
Instead of fibroblasts only responding to the abnormal ECM, GHK-Cu provides an additional biological signal that, in laboratory studies, encourages fibroblasts to: produce more collagen, produce elastin, support normal extracellular matrix remodeling, and promote tissue repair.
If that new ECM becomes healthier, then the fibroblasts are no longer surrounded by an abnormal environment. They start receiving healthier signals from the tissue itself (not only in the skin but also in deeper connective tissues where fibroblasts are present -> AKA the SMAS)

The loop would theoretically become:
Healthier ECM → healthier fibroblast behavior → even healthier ECM → normal tissue maintenance
=Positive Remodeling Loop

This mechanism is biologically plausible based on preclinical research, but it has not been proven in people with post-hyaluronidase symptoms."

I have to say, out of all the therapies I’ve come across here and in the Facebook group for hyaluronidase damage, this is by far the most promising one I’ve seen so far. However, I can’t seem to find anyone who has actually tried it and shared their results. I’ve ordered a vial and plan to start as soon as it arrives. Has anyone here used GHK-Cu for hyaluronidase damage? I’d really love to hear about your experience.

In 2022, a doctor who was clearly neither honest nor transparent told me that I needed filler in the front part of my cheeks (not the lateral cheek area). I trusted him. He used a cannula and injected the filler, but I wasn't given any real explanation. He gave me the product label, and since I had no experience with fillers, I didn't know what questions to ask.Immediately afterward, I noticed irregularities on the left side. I was told to massage the area. Within a few months, the irregularities disappeared, but from time to time I still noticed something "strange" under my left eye—very subtle, almost imperceptible.

Then, in the summer of 2024, I woke up one morning with a swollen lower eyelid. The swelling has never gone away since.I had a high-frequency ultrasound performed by an experienced physician who specializes in both ultrasound-guided filler injections and ultrasound-guided hyaluronidase treatments. He told me there was no residual filler visible, but the ultrasound showed "alteration of the tissue planes above and below the muscle, more pronounced on the left side, possibly representing the aftermath of an inflammatory process." He advised me to be patient, take bromelain, and possibly use corticosteroids if necessary.

Well, I've been patient for two years, and nothing has changed. That's why I don't think ongoing inflammation is the explanation anymore. I believe the migrated filler may have obstructed the lymphatic vessels around the eye area. I find it very difficult to live with the way I look now. In my country, an oculoplastic surgeon has described this condition as late-onset chronic edema, which, according to him, can appear even up to ten years after filler treatment. He treats it with hyaluronidase, but in his published articles he also states that about 60% of patients are dissatisfied afterward because of volume loss. For those patients, he reinjects a filler specifically designed for the under-eye area using a particular technique called the G-Point technique. However, after reading so many stories about complications from hyaluronidase, I simply can't bring myself to trust it.

The swelling is not severely disfiguring, which makes me wonder: if I do nothing, is there a risk that it will get worse, as this surgeon suggests?Has anyone experienced filler migration causing swelling years after the original treatment? I'm considering getting another high-frequency ultrasound from a physician who specializes in filler complications. The ultrasound costs $300, and the consultation is another $200. But I keep wondering: what if the only treatment she recommends is hyaluronidase?

I've also had COVID-19 four times since 2020 and suffered from long COVID twice—once in 2020 and again this year, lasting about six months. I wonder whether this could make adverse reactions more likely. I'm feeling better now, but I believe my immune system has been very fragile since 2020. This year has been especially devastating. Are there really no alternatives to reduce the swelling besides hyaluronidase?

After a few botched cheek filler I decided to dissolve it all and start clean. It took maybe 4-5 treatments of dissolver to get it all out and I still had a little left but decided I would start refilling. I’ve done 6 syringes so far and I can hardly see the results! I find this strange because before I would do one-three syringes and get great results. Did hyaluronidase just completely ruin my skin or was my filler built up before, so one syringe seemed like more than it was? I’m also 37f and I know I should be prepared for skin changes but i wasn’t prepared for this. Wondering if anyone else has experienced this or knows what’s causing this to happen!

I experienced still swelling over 1 month after dissolving undereye filler. I went for ultrasound but the result was no more filler there but edema was seen. I do lymphatic drainage but it doesn't go away. I went to an eye doctor he said i should wait 2 -3 months. Plastic surgeon said only op will fix it. But I don't want. Can someone help me please. Or does someone experienced the same?

Would love some advice, it hangs lower and feels fatter,but still have some unresolved nodules, should I wait or go for another round?

I've been thinking about getting a really conservative amount of HA lip filler, but I'm only interested in results that look natural. I'm not trying to dramatically change my lips, just add a little balance and hydration. For those who've had a subtle amount done, were you happy with the final result once the swelling went down? Did anyone notice, or was it more of a "you look refreshed" kind of change?

I'd love to hear what surprised you the most, good or bad.

3 weeks ago I had my nose, lip and chin filler dissolved and it was the worst mistake of my life.
My nose filler had started migrating leaving me with a bulge at the side of my eye. My lips had developed a lump at one side (they had been filled multiple times over 4 years) there was nothing wrong with my chin but I thought might as well dissolve everything in one go. I was always very self conscious about my nose. It was my biggest insecurity and affected my confidence more than I realised until I got filler. The filler really did make a huge difference- people treated me differently, I didn’t hide from pictures/mirrors anymore or avoid exposing my side profile. I was at peace with the fact that it needed to be dissolved and redone. I wish I had read all the Reddit horror stories of dissolving before I had it done. I thought I would just look how I looked before. I look completely sunken around my whole face, my lips are wrinkly and saggy, and my nose which I was already painfully self conscious about now looks even worse than before as it has a huge dent in the middle. It’s been 3 weeks with no improvement. I’m booked to get refilled again at a different clinic but I’m so nervous to do this because of the damage that has already been done. But I also can’t go on looking like this. Since this happened I haven’t left the house except to go to work. I’ve hid my face with a mask, cancelled all my plans and avoided all social interactions. I haven’t even made it to the gym because I just feel so ugly and don’t want to be perceived. Does anyone else have similar experiences or know anything that could help me look healthy again? I feel like I don’t know who to ask for help or where to go because aesthetics clinics will of course recommend more filler but I don’t want to cend up in this situation again in the future.

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone here has experienced something similar because this has been going on for about two months and it's been incredibly frustrating.

We think everything started after I took Arveles (dexketoprofen). About 18 hours later, I woke up and my entire upper and lower lip were massively swollen. I went to the emergency department, where they suspected it was a delayed allergic reaction to Arveles. I received two steroid injections, and the swelling resolved. I was completely fine for about a week.

Then everything changed.

Instead of my whole lip swelling, I started getting localized swelling in different parts of my lips. One day it would be my upper lip, another day my lower lip, sometimes several different areas over time. The swelling is inflammatory, tender, warm, and firm at first, then softens before it goes away.

At first, we thought I might have chronic angioedema, and my first doctor(he was an allergy immunology professor) treated me as if that was the diagnosis. Unfortunately, I can't say I had a great experience with my first doctor. He told me the attacks had to stop before we could figure out the cause, so he kept me on oral steroids for about two weeks. I was prescribed large amounts of oral steroids and antihistamines. The strange thing is that antihistamines have never helped at all. Not even slightly.

Steroids would suppress the attacks while I was taking them, but every time I stopped the steroids, the swelling came back. Some attacks became so severe that even 32 mg of steroids (two 16 mg tablets) wouldn't bring the swelling down easily. He also never told me to take them in the morning, so I was taking them at night, which really affected my mood and skin. Looking back, I feel like we just lost time, especially since he already knew I had hyaluronic acid fillers.

It was like a nightmare. I had no social life, mirrors were scary, and going to sleep became the most stressful time of my life because I usually woke up with a VERY swollen lip. So being able to sleep peacefully wasn't an option for me.

Eventually, I sought a second opinion.

The new doctor suspected that the problem might be related to my hyaluronic acid lip filler rather than classic angioedema. We performed hyaluronidase (filler dissolving).

The first dissolving session helped for about two days, but then the attacks returned. They weren't quite as enormous anymore, but they were still happening almost every single day. The size decreased from massive to moderate/large, but the frequency barely changed. Although there was one point where I went five days without any attacks, which honestly felt like a miracle. Unfortunately, after those five days, it came back with a very large swelling in my lower lip.

We then did a second hyaluronidase session, and that made a much bigger difference.

After the second treatment, my attacks became significantly less frequent. Instead of swelling almost daily, I started going 5–7 days without any attacks, which was the best improvement I'd had since this all began.

An ultrasound later showed very little to no remaining filler, but there was one area with findings suggestive of an inflammatory/granulomatous reaction.

Unfortunately, I've recently caught what seems to be a viral infection (runny nose, sore throat, low-grade fever), and for the past three days my lip attacks have increased dramatically again. They're happening much more frequently, they're lasting longer, and they're slightly larger than they had been before I got sick.

My doctors think the infection may have triggered my immune system and worsened the inflammatory reaction, so we're currently waiting for me to recover before deciding whether to proceed with a third hyaluronidase treatment.

At this point, I'm wondering:

• Has anyone experienced recurrent inflammatory swelling after hyaluronic acid filler?
• Did your symptoms migrate to different parts of the lips?
• Did viral illnesses make your flare-ups worse?
• How long did it take to completely resolve?
• Did hyaluronidase eventually stop the attacks completely?

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone with a similar experience because this has been a long and confusing journey.

Thank you for reading.

For anyone with eyes sinking into the sockets post Hyal- did this ever improve or get better? How can this be fixed with plastic surgery?

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone here has experienced something similar because this has been going on for about two months and it's been incredibly frustrating.

We think everything started after I took Arveles (dexketoprofen). About 18 hours later, I woke up and my entire upper and lower lip were massively swollen. I went to the emergency department, where they suspected it was a delayed allergic reaction to Arveles. I received two steroid injections, and the swelling resolved. I was completely fine for about a week.

Then everything changed.

Instead of my whole lip swelling, I started getting localized swelling in different parts of my lips. One day it would be my upper lip, another day my lower lip, sometimes several different areas over time. The swelling is inflammatory, tender, warm, and firm at first, then softens before it goes away.

At first, we thought I might have chronic angioedema, and my first doctor(he was an allergy immunology professor) treated me as if that was the diagnosis. Unfortunately, I can't say I had a great experience with my first doctor. He told me the attacks had to stop before we could figure out the cause, so he kept me on oral steroids for about two weeks. I was prescribed large amounts of oral steroids and antihistamines. The strange thing is that antihistamines have never helped at all. Not even slightly.

Steroids would suppress the attacks while I was taking them, but every time I stopped the steroids, the swelling came back. Some attacks became so severe that even 32 mg of steroids (two 16 mg tablets) wouldn't bring the swelling down easily. He also never told me to take them in the morning, so I was taking them at night, which really affected my mood and skin. Looking back, I feel like we just lost time, especially since he already knew I had hyaluronic acid fillers.

It was like a nightmare. I had no social life, mirrors were scary, and going to sleep became the most stressful time of my life because I usually woke up with a VERY swollen lip. So being able to sleep peacefully wasn't an option for me.

Eventually, I sought a second opinion.

The new doctor suspected that the problem might be related to my hyaluronic acid lip filler rather than classic angioedema. We performed hyaluronidase (filler dissolving).

The first dissolving session helped for about two days, but then the attacks returned. They weren't quite as enormous anymore, but they were still happening almost every single day. The size decreased from massive to moderate/large, but the frequency barely changed. Although there was one point where I went five days without any attacks, which honestly felt like a miracle. Unfortunately, after those five days, it came back with a very large swelling in my lower lip.

We then did a second hyaluronidase session, and that made a much bigger difference.

After the second treatment, my attacks became significantly less frequent. Instead of swelling almost daily, I started going 5–7 days without any attacks, which was the best improvement I'd had since this all began.

An ultrasound later showed very little to no remaining filler, but there was one area with findings suggestive of an inflammatory/granulomatous reaction.

Unfortunately, I've recently caught what seems to be a viral infection (runny nose, sore throat, low-grade fever), and for the past three days my lip attacks have increased dramatically again. They're happening much more frequently, they're lasting longer, and they're slightly larger than they had been before I got sick.

My doctors think the infection may have triggered my immune system and worsened the inflammatory reaction, so we're currently waiting for me to recover before deciding whether to proceed with a third hyaluronidase treatment.

At this point, I'm wondering:

• Has anyone experienced recurrent inflammatory swelling after hyaluronic acid filler?
• Did your symptoms migrate to different parts of the lips?
• Did viral illnesses make your flare-ups worse?
• How long did it take to completely resolve?
• Did hyaluronidase eventually stop the attacks completely?

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone with a similar experience because this has been a long and confusing journey.

Thank you for reading.

hi everyone i had one syringe lip and i regret it. i’ve always had plump lips (small mouth) and wide corners when i smiled
i got the filler a total of 3 months ago

-my first dissolve session was a month after

during this session she put a little in the bottom lip and focused on the vermillion boarder

-my second one was month after

this one she fully dissolved them idk if she used a full vial or a little less bc the first one

-my third session was 2 weeks after because they were way bigger
she micro dissolved them and said she was too scared to dissolve my own HA, also she was scared to dissolve my cupids bow

now i want another micro dissolve session, they look way bigger and the corners don’t extend as much when i smiled, and wanna know if anyone has similar stories? i can also dm pics

hey folks! About five weeks ago I had dermal fillers placed under my eye or under eye bags. I feel like they placed the fillers more by the cheekbone less directly in the midface the first time. The results were amazing. I looked younger. I looked awesome. I went back and they suggested maybe one more vile of dermal filler in the mid face. Now my bags look worse, almost 3 weeks later than they did even before the first dermal fillers.

The medical aesthetician who is also a nurse is highly regarded and well respected in the state where I live.

I am considering doing hyalurondaise in a very small microdose just where the last treatment was in the mid face.

Is there any way that they could make it look like the first treatment did with a small amount of pyran or is that highly unlikely. Not sure what to do at this point, but I certainly don’t want my eyebags to look worse. I was considering a lower bleph and just wish I went that route .

Has anyone else felt desperate to somehow remove their filler? I have had chronic and severe filler issue since 2023- biofilm nodules, filler lumps sitting on lymph nodes and causing lymphedema, and every part of my face swelling. I look nothing like who I was before my filler flared up. I have been too terrified to dissolve any of the filler because I mentally couldn’t handle looking worse or going systematic. Does anyone know of any other way to remove the filler or any doctors who can remove it any other way? I’m so sick of feeling sick from this filler and it ruining my looks. I’m just desperate at this point.

I would really appreciate your opinion regarding a complication I am experiencing.

Around 40 days ago, I developed significant facial swelling after cosmetic filler treatment. The filler I am trying to dissolve is Revolax.

I have now had two sessions of hyaluronidase, with the most recent one performed on Monday. Despite this, I still have persistent swelling (edema), especially in my chin and lower face.

I have also been taking oral corticosteroids (Medrol) for several weeks and even received intravenous steroids and antihistamines in the hospital, but the swelling has still not resolved.

I am very worried because it has been 40 days and I still look swollen. Could you please tell me:

What could be causing this persistent swelling?

Is this something you have seen before after hyaluronidase or Revolax filler?

How long does this type of edema usually take to resolve?

Is there anything else you would recommend I do or investigate?

Thank you very much for your time and advice.

Additionally, I had a soft tissue ultrasound, which showed no abscess or collection of pus. The only finding was diffuse soft tissue edema. This makes me wonder why the swelling is still persisting despite oral corticosteroids, intravenous treatment, and two sessions of hyaluronidase. In your opinion, what could be causing this?