Woman leaves face disfigured after lip filler

Mariana Michelini35 years old, he spoke on his social media about a very complicated period he experienced in 2020, when he decided to get fillers on his lips, chin and in the cheekbone area, an area known as cheekbones.

The woman underwent the procedure at a healthcare provider in Matão, a municipality 306 km from the city of Sao Paulo. Six months later, she woke up with a swollen, red face and severe pain.

After undergoing a biopsy, eka discovered that the product used in the procedure was PMMA and not hyaluronic acid, as she had been told. Polymethyl methacrylate, called PMMA, is a permanent filler in gel form, used in cosmetic procedures and to correct lipodystrophy, a change in the amount of fat in the body that can occur in HIV patients.

Since 2021, she has undergone antibiotic and steroid treatments to remove parts of the PMMA and surgery that removed her upper lip and upper lip.

In December last year Michelini underwent his first reconstruction surgery. Mariana vented about everything that happened and today she can no longer name the professional.

Testimony

“During the Covid pandemic, in 2020, two events permanently marked my life. The first was the death of my mother, in June. The second was a facial attunement, in December, which involved the loss of upper lip, which I still had surgery to try to build up.

I went to college and worked as a pharmacy clerk. But, with my mother’s death, I had to stop studying and find another source of income to pay the bills. So I started being a model and influencer on my social networks, promoting the brands that were looking for me. I did these jobs for pay, but some were done through barter. This is how, in exchange for facial harmonization, I posted an ad for a healthcare provider in my city.

I went to his clinic and had fillers on my lips, chin and cheekbones. The result was beautiful and I left the office super satisfied. At the time, in addition to posting on social media, I was also living several lives during the pandemic. So I told my followers what it was like to have the surgery, who I did it with, I said I really liked it, everything that was part of the promotion.

Until one day, six months later, in June 2021, I woke up with my lips and chin swollen, red and sore. I went back to this professional, but she was very nervous and didn’t know how to proceed. So I went to a dermatologist in my city who prescribed me antibiotics and steroids. During that time I was still in contact with the professional who performed my filling and she said that she would cover the costs of the inflammation treatment I was having with this doctor.

But the medicines didn’t have much effect, so this dermatologist referred me to Dr. Carlos Roberto Antonio, also a dermatologist and working in the city of São José do Rio Preto. When I arrived at his office, we still thought that the material that had been applied to me was hyaluronic acid. Then he applied the enzyme hyaluronidase, which is capable of dissolving this product, but nothing changed.

Dr. Carlos was suspicious and took some material from my lip to do a biopsy. Only when the results of this test arrived did we discover that the harmonization professional had used PMMA on me and not hyaluronic acid.

I was desperate, I looked online and saw that several women had died after undergoing PMMA procedures. I could only cry, not knowing what would happen to me. I sued the harmonization professional and told her what happened on social media. But she sued me too and I can’t say her name or her profession.

Initially, Dr. Carlos opted for a more conservative treatment, removing small parts of the product if necessary and applying a laser to the area to reduce swelling. I also had to continue taking corticosteroids and antibiotics.

The swelling went down a bit, but the pain was still so bad that sometimes I couldn’t brush my teeth. It was an excruciating, unbearable pain.

In May 2022, despite undergoing this treatment, I also started to feel pain above my upper lip, in the upper lip area. Dr. Carlos explained that the PMMA was migrating, moving up from the lip to this area. He said I would have to have the product removed by a surgeon.

Chatting online with other women who also had problems with aesthetic treatments, they recommended Alberto Goldman, a plastic surgeon specialized in the removal of PMMA with laser.

I had a virtual consultation with him and he also wanted to talk to Dr. Carlos to understand my case better. But Dr. Alberto’s clinic is in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, how would I have found the money to have the operation and go there?

Despite the fear and uncertainty, I had a lot of faith that I would make it. I explained my situation on social media and many people helped me pay for tickets and accommodation.

Doctor Alberto was an angel, who treated me as if I were his own daughter. But unfortunately it was necessary to remove the upper lip and the upper lip, because the PMMA had already affected the tissues a lot. He also removed the PMMA from my chin and placed a skin graft, which he took from the back of my ear.

Then my battle for lip reconstruction began. Last year, a follower told me about Dr. Raulino Brasil, from Palhoça (SC), a specialist in oral and maxillofacial surgery and traumatology.

To go to his clinic, I once again counted on the financial help of my followers. There, during the evaluation, Dr. Raulino saw that there was a lot of fibrosis in the affected areas, so I had to undergo steroid applications again with Dr. Marcos before the surgery.

On December 19th I was able to carry out the first construction phase with Dr. Raulino. He used a technique called Abbe, which took a triangle from the lower lip and sewed it into the skin of the upper lip to reconstruct the upper lip. During this process, I had to spend 20 days with my mouth sewn shut, with only a space in the right corner to eat a liquid diet, with a straw, and take medications. I stayed there until January to get my stitches removed and my mouth opened.

Dr. Raulino said the surgery was successful and everything went as planned. Now I have to wait a few more months to be able to do other surgeries with him that will finish reconstituting the upper lip.

In total I will have to stay in Palhoça for 40 days. Thank God, my followers help me pay the expenses. And also many people I met there were very generous and welcomed me. Even though I was deceived, God showed me that there are still many good people in the world. And I have great faith that I will make a full recovery.”

Source: Terra