Chinese woman suffers side-effects following unlicensed dermal fillers

A 28-year-old woman from the Gansu Province in China is having to undergo corrective surgery as unlicensed dermal fillers were inserted in to her face 11 years ago.

Xiao Lan, still a teenager at the time, was told by her then-boss that her looks would not be enough to secure her finding a wealthy man as her skin was too thin and papery. As a result Lan chose to have facial fillers to help plump out the appearance of her face, in order to make it what was deemed to be more attractive.

Given that she was not earning a great deal at the time, rather than save up to have the procedure carried out at a reputable clinic, Lan chose to have the procedure done at an unlicensed, cheaper clinic. At the time she was said to be happy and satisfied with the outcome; however, in 2009, changes started to occur.

Her face swelled up and changed slightly in shape, her eyes became droopy and she even suffered from excessive hair loss. At the time doctors attributed this to possible kidney or liver failure, but there was no alternative diagnosis when these were ruled out.

By 2013 things had taken a turn for the worst, when Lan’s face has swollen up and changed beyond all recognition due to the unlicensed dermal fillers. This time doctors were able to pinpoint the problem as the side effect of her earlier fillers, when the substance that was used was uncovered. Although it was banned from the medical cosmetic industry, Lan’s face had been injected with hydrophilic polyacrylamide. Previously this substance had been used in breast implants in China.

Lan is now undergoing corrective surgery to reverse the problem caused by unlicensed dermal fillers. Doctors have warned her that the effects of the illicit substance injected in to her face may be difficult to reverse given that it has been in her skin for such a long time.

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Botox reducing obesity

Norwegian PhD student, Helene Johannessen thinks so, and alongside her clinical research team is currently undertaking medical research on laboratory rats to see if Botox could provide a legitimate alternative to costly and invasive gastric surgery. The work they have carried out so far shows promising signs that Botox could help to achieve weight loss in patients suffering with obesity.

They have tested injecting the toxin in to the vagus nerve of the stomach in the rats – this nerve is responsible for triggering hunger and also passing food through to the intestines. Botox works by paralysing this nerve to stop the hunger signal being sent to the brain, therefore Botox reducing obesity.

Over a five week period of receiving Botox injections the rats ate less and lost 20-30% of their body weight. If injections to the vagus nerve work in the same way on humans then it could mark a huge turning point in how obese patients are treated.

Miss Johannessen, who with her team is working for the Experimental Surgery and Pharmacology research project as part of their endeavour to find alternatives to the treatment of obesity, is waiting for approval from medical authorities in Norway before commencing human trials. Talking to Norwegian television channel NRK, she said:

“As a start we will be inviting patients who are candidates for obesity operations but who, for one reason or another cannot undergo one.”

Obesity currently accounts for between 2 and 8% of the global healthcare bill and for 10-13% of all deaths in certain parts of Europe.

Cosmetic Courses are the UK’s leading aesthetic training provider for medical professionals offering foundation, advanced and bespoke Botox training for medical professionals. For information on any of our training courses or to find out our latest course dates, please contact us on 01844 390110 or email [email protected].

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