Are these broken blood vessels or purplish color a side effect of Restylane?

Dr. Irwin
April 24, 2012
I had Restylane injected into my nasolabial folds about 3 years ago and still have a purplish hue skin color that is hard to cover with makeup. If I look at my skin under magnification I have some broken blood vessels. How can I get rid of this discoloration? Also I would like to have some filer in my marionet lines but do not know what filer to use. Can you make a suggestion? Joy

In our experience, there are usually three main causes for these.  One, some people are prone to these around the nose and nasolabial folds, probably genetically (look at your parents – do they have them?).   Two, sometimes these are related to rosacea and/or flushing.  And three, possibly the Restylane particularly if you had a really severe bruise with the treatment.

Any time a needle is inserted into the skin, there is a potential for a bruise.  There are a lot of things you can do to help prevent bruises –  here is more info on preventing bruising after injectable treatments.   Most experienced injectors have occasionally seen patients where injections seem to aggravate veins although it’s usually mild.  A pulsed dye laser or photorejuvenation laser treatment will help to fix the problem.  These laser treatments are not usually very expensive.  Dr. I

Dr. Brandith Irwin, MD

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