Migrating filler can happen when injectable products are placed into the wrong plane. As Dr. Hahn explains, a thin plane – known as the pars marginalis and pars peripherals – separates the lip muscle (orbicularis oris), and injecting it into the wrong plane can allow the filler to move.
While it is possible for fillers to migrate, this side effect is extremely rare and can be avoided by choosing a qualified injector. Though filler migration is very uncommon, its likelihood increases when fillers are performed by an inexperienced or underqualified injector.
An injection technique that uses fewer incisions, therefore creating fewer "holes" in the "hose," will be less likely to result in migration, says Dr. Durairaj. Creating fewer punctures on the border of the lip is always the cleanest and best technique, she adds.
Although extremely rare, dermal fillers are able to migrate within the skin if consistent and adequate pressure is applied to them. For this reason, we advise patients not to get a facial, massage (on the treated skin), or microdermabrasion for the first two weeks following their filler injections.
It will almost always be clear to see if your filler has migrated beyond the lips. A plump upper lip and a lack of a definite boundary between the lip edge and the upper or lower region of the lip border are both visual signs of lip filler migration.
Dr. Tijion Esho, founder of Esho Clinic and ESHO lip products, says true filler migration is actually quite rare. “The face has fixed facial compartments and filler can only move where there is adjacent space,” he says.
“Migration can present sooner or later depending on the volume injected,” she notes. “It can present as soon as 4-6 weeks if the lips were grossly overfilled. Or it may appear months later if the migration is more gradual.
You should massage after having injectable filler in areas where the skin is thinner, such as the lips or lower eyelids, but massaging too much and in other areas could actually break down the filler, resulting in less volume. Or it may cause filler migration.
After your dermal filler treatment, you should remain in an upright position for 3-4 hours and avoid rubbing or applying any pressure on the treated area. This will prevent the filler from migrating to other areas. The best sleeping positions following treatment limit facial movement and stress on the face.
DON'T touch the treated area for at least 6-8 hours afterwards. The risk of infection is much higher in the time immediately after your filler treatment, so medical experts recommend not touching the affected area for at least that amount of time.
Dermal filler doesn't 'normally', move after treatment. Immediately after treatment, in certain areas of the face, I do gently massage the area/s that were injected to help mold the product and prevent lumps. It does take about 2 weeks for the filler to settle and integrate into the tissue.
Can I Sleep On My Side After I Get Fillers? Try to sleep on your back for 24-48 hours after filler injections. After that, you can safely sleep on your side without worrying that the filler will move with gravity.
What Does Migrated Filler Look Like? According to Dr. Sherber, filler migration tends to be most noticeable in thin-skinned areas, like under your eyes. “It can give the look of puffiness under the eyes after under eye filler or create a 'filler mustache' above the upper lip after lip filler,” says Dr.
Migration is when the hyaluronic acid filler used in areas like the lips, for instance, moves from its intended injection site to create unnatural, obvious distortions to the face.
If you can only feel the lumps and not see them, then panic even less, because this isn't usually a problem. If you can see the lumps. Keep your eye on them. Perform gentle massage (only if recommended by your injector) and if you can still see a lump at 4 weeks, contact your doctor.
Lip filler migration commonly occurs as a result of too much filler being injected into an area and “bleeding” elsewhere.
It is important all physicians assessing nodules/masses/swelling in the facial area be aware that soft tissue fillers may migrate to a location away from their intended site of injection by several mechanisms and persist in the tissue even years later.
“Pillow face” is a direct play on the puffy, unattractive result of using too much facial filler or transferred fat. Another term often used to describe this overfilled look is “chipmunky.”
Additionally filler is quite soft and moveable for the first 48 hours post treatment, so there can be some compression of filler around areas of higher muscular contraction or if a patient swells greatly post treatment, this can also cause some compression or movement of product.
Calcium hydroxylapatite is biosynthetically produced, which means that no animals or animal products are used. This lowers your risk of an allergic reaction and no skin testing is required. This type of dermal filler is known to produce a very natural result, doesn't migrate and side effects are rare.
Because dermal fillers are made of hyaluronic acid, a naturally occurring skin compound, they are naturally dissolved by your body over a period of 6 – 18 months.
The lips may be swollen or sore initially, so some women may not be in the mood to kiss or be afraid of kissing. There isn't any known evidence that routine kissing will cause more rapid breakdown of the product or move the filler.
"If there is fullness outside the border of your lips, this is generally a sign that the filler has migrated," adds Dr. Ramanadham. "This can occur if too much was injected or injected incorrectly.
So while the body naturally breaks them down over time, there is a way to speed up the process: Injections of hyaluronidase. Hyaluronidase is what the body produces naturally to break down fillers, so by injecting more, it allows the lips to regain natural shape quicker, usually going down within 3-4 days.