Late Facial Edema After Lip Filling With Hyaluronic Acid: Possible Association With the Use of Ozempic

Abstract

In recent years there has been an extraordinary increase in the use of different filler materials as facial cosmetic treatments. The popularity of injectable tissue fillers among individuals who wish to restore volume and gain a more youthful appearance is because it is a minimally invasive esthetic procedure for soft tissue augmentation. However, although they are considered efficient and safe, they can trigger complications such as swelling, bruising, erythema, pain, infection, nodule formation, vascular occlusion, and pigmentary changes. The objective of this article was to present a case of a 46-year-old patient who presented with significant facial edema 3 months after lip and infraorbital filling with hyaluronic acid, resistant to medication, which appeared and worsened after starting to use Ozempic for weight loss. Therefore, we chose to perform an intralesional application of hyaluronidase 2.000utr, immediately observing the decrease in edema. After a week, the patient was completely recovered, with no signs of edema, no allergic reactions and feeling very well. The etiology of late inflammatory reactions is unclear and we believe that some medications may be capable of initiating these immune responses. Hyaluronidase is an effective treatment to reverse adverse reactions from hyaluronic acid injection, dissolving the peptide bond proteins within the hyaluronic acid, increasing the viscosity of the material and allowing it to be dispersed throughout the soft tissue.