A British woman has told how her lips “popped” after she had botched filler – leaving her with a huge swollen mouth.
Katherine Tring wanted to get injectables to plump up her “very thin top lip”, which she claimed “disappeared” when she smiled. But the 30-year-old was shocked when her mouth swelled up to an extreme size “immediately” after the injection. The adverse reaction also left her with bruises and blood “trickling down” her face and neck – forcing her to hide her face and take time off work.
The civil servant, from Hampshire, said: “I’ve always had a very thin top lip that disappeared when I smiled. It’s called an M-shaped lip that can be hard to correct but I knew it would make a difference to my confidence. The person who did it warned me it would take a lot to make a difference – it was definitely well over 1ml. Immediately afterwards my lips swelled.
“We actually had to stop before she was happy with them as they were too swollen to continue. They bled and bruised as it was being done. I could feel the blood trickling down my face and neck. They felt really hard and actually like they couldn’t get any bigger or they’d pop.”
Embarrassed by the botched procedure, Katherine felt she had no choice but to hide her lips from everyone until they healed. She took time off work and wore a face mask in public. Katherine explained: “I took antihistamines and I was recommended arnica gel, but had a reaction to it.
“At one point I considered going to hospital as I thought I was having an allergic reaction to it all. They [the lips] went down eventually, probably by day five. But I had to wait two weeks for the dent to be corrected as they were too swollen to continue from the first session.
“It was quite scary actually. I didn’t tell my partner I was having them done and I hid my lips with a blanket when he first walked in. He was shocked and told me I looked ridiculous. My friends and family were good at reassuring me but while my lips were swollen no one could take me seriously! I had to send daily updates.”
Then, 18 months later, she decided to get the filler redone by booking in an appointment with an aesthetic nurse. Thankfully, it was a much better experience. She said: “My top lip had migrated from being overfilled and my bottom lip had hard lumps. But two weeks after she dissolved them, she filled them again. She was so gentle and I had minimal bruising/swelling.” Katherine also shared her experience on TikTok, where she received messages of support and even heard from one woman who ended up going to hospital after having lip filler from the same doctor.
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