Lasering over fillers – is it safe?

I recently had Juvederm Ultra XC injected in the chin area and am now considering laser treatment with Total FX in the same area to address vertical lip lines and "orange peel" skin texture. The Juvederm brochure warns there is risk of an inflammatory reaction when lasers are used after injections. What kind of reaction are they talking about? Would the Juvederm disappear? Scarring? Would it be safer to have hyaluronidase injected before laser treatment? Please advise.

I’m glad you asked this.   There is not much data on this since the laser devices and the fillers are owned by different companies. There’s not been much collaboration on this issue.

In general, it’s completely safe to do an IPL/photorejuvenation over HA fillers because the IPL targets blood vessels and brown spots in the outer layers (the epidermis and high dermis) and the fillers are placed below that level usually.

It’s a little more complicated with lasers that go deeper and it depends on what sort of settings the doctor who is doing the lasering in planning on using.   Again, generally the HA  filler is placed below where the laser would be reaching.   Same thing for Sculptra.  Radiesse, Artefill or silicone could be more problematic because they are more prone to inflammatory bumps.  The majority of Sculptra bumps are product clumping bumps not true inflammatory ones.

Bottom line – tell your board certified dermatologist who is doing the lasering about the filler and ask him/her this question also!  More questions and answers re filler issues.

Hope that all makes sense,  Dr. I

Dr. Brandith Irwin, MD

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Hi, I’m Dr. Irwin. I believe that consumers deserve a medically trained and unbiased skin care advocate.

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