I’m sure you have heard that dissolving filler is an option if you don’t like it, and while that is partially true there are a lot of myths surrounding that!

What are Fillers?

Hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers are sterile gels consisting of non-animal stabilized hyaluronic acid for injection into the skin to correct facial lines, wrinkles and folds, for lip enhancement, shaping facial contours, etc.

Why Would Someone Have to Consider Dissolving Filler?

The worst case scenario with any filler procedure is what’s called vascular occlusion- basically when filler is injected inadvertently into a blood vessel, blocking blood supply to its target tissue, ultimately leading to tissue death and necrosis if not corrected quickly. That is where hyaluronidase comes in. Hyaluronidase (hyalenex) is an enzyme that breaks up hyaluronic acid and essentially aids in dissolving filler. We always keep it on hand in the worst case event that we experience a vascular occlusion. Flooding the affected area with hyaluronidase is the best bet to restoring blood flow to the tissues.

Aside from vascular occlusions, occasionally fillers produce unwanted aesthetic outcomes, as no cosmetic procedure has guaranteed results. In rare cases, these undesirable effects can be treated with hyaluronidase, however this does carry risks of its own.

We have HA in our body naturally, and hyaluronidase is not selective when it comes to what HA it dissolves- it just dissolves everything in its path. So, while we may only try to dissolve a small bump of filler, there is no guarantee that the hyaluronidase won’t dissolve the native HA in your surrounding tissues. This can leave you with an unwanted deficit or even skin laxity in or around the treated area.

Patience is Key

The best bet to treating an unwanted outcome is patience- over time (usually 6 months to 2 years depending on the product), your body will absorb the HA filler and the unwanted effects will go away, but on the flip side there is no guarantee that over time your body’s natural HA will be regenerated if a deficit is created from using hyaluronidase.

So yes, HA fillers are reversible, but not without consequence. Our hope is that you are pleased from the get go with your cosmetic outcomes, however no result is ever guaranteed, and there are risks associated with “dissolving filler”. Our advice is to know the risks of filler beforehand, be ok with those risks, and have patience if something does not look exactly how you had hoped. Sometimes doing too much to try to “fix” things just makes the problem worse or creates new problems, and we are left chasing our tails. Of course, our team will always do everything we can to make you pleased with your appearance and loving the skin you’re in! dissolving filler dissolving filler