• Anita Mandal M.D.

    Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon

A Surgeon's Skill, An Artist's Soul, A Woman's Compassion

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Myths About Injectable Fillers

Question: I’d like to have some fillers in my deep facial grooves and cheek hollows but heard that fillers can move. Is it also true that long lasting fillers cause visible lumps years later?

Answer: Numerous misconceptions exist about injectable fillers. Often, these falsehoods are spread by inexperienced injectors or the result of inferior injection technique, incorrect choice of filler or filler being injected into the wrong tissue plane or facial area. Superior experience, advanced injector skill and a thorough understanding of the intricate aesthetic facial anatomy can avoid problems and misconceptions.

MYTH: Filler can move to a different place than where it was originally injected. This is FALSE. In 20 years of practice, I have never personally had an injectable filler move. I have, however, heard of many patients who were incorrectly told by their doctor that the filler moved as an explanation for why the filler ended up in a place different from where it was injected. Poor injectors make great excuses for substandard injector skill. The one filler that is known to move is silicone. However, injectable silicone is not FDA approved in the US for cosmetic treatment.

MYTH: Temporary fillers like Radiesse, Restylane & Juvederm last one year. Claims of these temporary fillers lasting one year are inaccurate. In actuality, half of the filler is often gone 7-8 months after injection. Unlike temporary fillers, Bellafill, the 5-year filler, has been shown to last 5 years and, in half of patients, noted to get even better as the years pass.

MYTH: Bellafill is much more costly than temporarily fillers. This is false; Bellafill costs 20 to 35 percent more than temporary fillers. However, if you spread the cost of Bellafill over a 5 year period, Bellafill ends up being most cost-effective and, often, the lower-priced filler.

MYTH: Long-term fillers give visible bumps over time as the skin thins with age so it’s better to have shorter acting fillers. This is also false. I have offered Bellafill since 2013 and, in having performed over 5000 treatments, I have not come across the development of nodules or granulomas as a result of thinning skin over the course of time. There is also no research I know of that supports this false claim.

MYTH: Fillers make you look puffy. This is also false when a filler is properly injected by an expert injector. The key to a natural result lies in injecting the proper aesthetic subunits of the face combined with avoidance of other facial subunits to achieve the proper facial balance.

A thorough consultation with a Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon who is also a master injector is the first step in determining the most suitable injectable filler options for your unique rejuvenation needs.

Anita Mandal, MD

Dr. Anita Mandal is a double Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon practicing since 1998. She exclusively specializes in facial rejuvenation and non-invasive body contouring. In addition to being on the medical staff at Jupiter Medical Center, her offices house both surgical and laser suites. Dr. Mandal is committed to giving her patients the most natural looking results. 

Mandal Plastic Surgery Center 

2401 PGA Blvd., Suite 146 

Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410 

Phone: (561) 238-0040

Website: www.MandalPlasticSurgery.com 

E-mail: drmandal@comcast.net