Dr. Sam Lam Plastic Surgery Forum

Dear Dr. Lam

I August 2007 I had Aquamid injected into my cheeks, and few weeks after there occurred infection in both. It took about 1,5 month to get rid of the infection, and now I am left with scar tissue, hollow cheeks and two scares (like small holes).

Would fat grafting be an opportunity? I really hope to receive a positive answer, because if you can't help me, I am sure nobody can.

Sorry about the incorrect English, but I am from Europe. Besides that I am almost 20 years old.

Anna

generally, fat is unsafe to do what you are seeking. the reason is that fat grafting is a live graft and is intended for even distribution of general contour problems. if you place fat into little discrete areas and your weight fluctuates you may have a weird ball in that area. if fat grows a bit you will also have uncontrolled unevenness. i use micro silicone injections but really have not heard of infections with liquid silicone. theoretically it is a risk but again liquid silicone is a material that is almost impervious to infection. (solid silicone on the other hand can more frequently become infected). the problem with silicone treatments is that they require multiple injections which is literally crazy if you are from Europe if you come to see me. Unfortunately, I trust very few other surgeons doing silicone because it can be done terribly. Because you are 20 years old, you might consider something as easy and reversible as Restylane to fix the dents. Restylane in static areas like the cheek tend to last much longer than in the lips and also is entirely reversible with Vitrase in case you don't like it. hope that helps.

So restylane would be the best option in my case? Is the risk of infection smaller with restylane than with aquamid? I didn't have any antibiotic treatment the first time, where acne bacterias was the cause of the infection. But if I this time had antibiotics before and after the procedure, sholudn't the risk of a new infection be extremely small?

Aquamid is a different animal, so to speak. You will not need antibiotics for Restylane but I assume Aquamid (which is permanent) is still sitting around there could get infected if you had that problem before. If Restylane gets infected, you can dissolve it with hyaluronidase. You should ask your M.D. what he/she recommends.

OMG I wish someone would have told me that before, and I would never even have considered getting myself involved with Aquamid

Thank you so much!

sorry to scare you. i'm sure you will be fine.
best,
sml