The lips may develop an abnormal “beak” or mustache-like appearance above the upper lip or experience thickening due to the filler settling in the wrong area and restricting natural movement. Filler migration is the process of the dermal filler spreading or “migrating” to another area beyond the injection site. While this is mostly associated with lip fillers, it can also occur in other areas such as the lacrimal canal, jawline, and cheeks. Migration of facial fillers can be caused by using the wrong filler in the wrong place.
If a thin, low-cohesive load is applied in large quantities in an area where a thicker, cohesive load would have been more suitable, it may not adhere properly and settle. Juvederm migration has no negative effects or consequences beyond an unexpected change in your facial appearance. If the fill moves, it may look different than you expected. However, rest assured that the effects of Juvederm migration are only cosmetic.
Even in rare cases where your fillers migrate, there will be no serious consequences. In aesthetic terms, migration refers to the process in which lip filling spreads (or migrates) to areas of the body for which it is not intended and leaves patients with a new source of embarrassment and less than satisfactory results. This is usually due to an inexperienced or untrained provider who does not know what they are doing. We also see patients who have been injected with too much filler under the eyes, which can lead to lumps since the skin in this area is exceptionally thin.
To learn more about the uses of different dermal fillers and their safety, schedule a consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon. With the increasing popularity of facial fillers over the past decade, there have been more clinics offering cosmetic injectables; however, this has led to a large number of poorly trained and unprofessional professionals performing injections. Different fillers must be injected at different depths into the skin, and a misplaced filler can create problems months later. Migration of lip filler can occur as a result of incorrect administration by a doctor.
It can detect migration of the filling, as it can give that duck or “shelf” appearance above the lip edge. Sometimes migration can be due to how the body breaks down the filling over time. In cases where too much product has been placed, it will have nowhere to go except outside the lip edge. In rare cases, facial fillers such as Juvederm may migrate to another site on the face a few days after injection. A poor injection technique can lead to migration (the act of spreading the filling to unwanted places) and an undesirable “duck lips” or “trout pout” appearance.
