Symptoms after Multiple Vitrase Injections

[melmiegs]

I recently had an overfill of Juviderm inserted into my face. They reduced much of it using a product called vitrase.
3 full vials within a 2 week period
Since then, my face has become super sensitive to the sun and swells up. It also burns in the areas that were injected and it has been 2 months since then. I have also noticed, when I take any medication such as aleve, that it also swells up after 20 minutes or so. I had headaches and mild nosebleeds the first 2 weeks after the injections, but those symptoms have gone away. Is it possible they injected way too much and if so, what can I do to reduce these symptoms and rid my skin of any residue of this product?

[melmiegs]

I am thinking the symptoms were from the vitrase not the juviderm. It started after the 3rd vial of vitrase was injected

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.

I can understand your concern for these symptoms after the Juvederm injections.  

Juvederm is basically an injectible filler used by cosmetic, dermatological, and plastic surgeons to soften deep folds and reduce wrinkles in the faces of patients. It consists of hyaluronic acid which is found normally in muscles, skin and tendons of mammals. Although it has many side effects like redness, pain and tenderness during injections and swelling and bruising at the injection sites but all these are temporary side effects which go away in a few days.

However allergic reaction is an important side effect of these injections which need to be ruled out in your case. What you are experiencing may be an anaphylactic reaction due to allergy to Juvederm. Moreover Juvederm should not be used in patients with a history of allergies to Gram-positive bacterial proteins or to lidocaine. You may be allergic to any of them.

Diagnosis of skin allergies can be made by investigations like skin prick tests (pricking the skin with a needle or pin containing a small amount of the allergen ('Prick Testing' or 'Scratch Testing'), Patch tests (by applying a patch to the skin, where the patch contains the allergen.) and RAST. You can get them done at your dermatologist’s office.

Secondly, Juvederm only comes in 0.8 mL syringes. Given your history that you were given injection Vitrase, it is possible that you were given an overdose. But overdose of Juvederm causes lumps which can be easily removed by hyaluronidase. Vitrase is hyaluronidase and it was given to avoid any lump formation. Overdosage of Juvederm will not cause redness, swelling and headaches. It is more likely to be due to an allergic reaction.

You can take some antihistaminics like Benadryl or Claritin after consulting your doctor and see whether it helps. It may cause drowsiness, hence it is advisable to take them under medical supervision.

Hope that this information helps and hope that you will get better soon.

Wishing you good health.