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Beauty blunder - 'My lips could have fallen off'

Ellen's treat to herself turned into a nightmare - by that's life!
  • 27 Apr 2020
Beauty blunder - 'My lips could have fallen off'

As told to Eva Lewicki

Ellen Casparian, 26, from Sydney had a frightening experience after a lip treatment. Here she tells her story in her own words.

My lips are too thin, I sighed looking in the mirror.

Longing for the look some of my friends had achieved with lip fillers,
I made an appointment at a clinic I found online.

My mum, Susan, 49, was horrified.

‘It’s dangerous, don’t do it!’ she begged.

‘It’ll be fine. None of my friends had problems,’ I assured her. 

So I went along for the procedure. At $600, it wasn’t cheap, but
I couldn’t wait to have luscious lips!

The nurse who worked there quickly stabbed my lips a few times with a needle. Without any anaesthetic, it stung like hell.

‘All done,’ she said.

I was stunned – I’d been there five minutes!

Is it meant to be so quick? I wondered.

I left, but my lips were so sore I rang the clinic.

xx

My lips swelled and changed cover

Ellen Casparian/Supplied

‘I’m in pain, is this right?’ I said, anxious.

‘Yes, it’s normal,’ she replied. ‘Take paracetamol and you’ll be fine.’

Within hours, my top lip had swollen to double its size. Desperate, I rang the clinic again.

‘You need to check my lips,’ I begged. ‘There’s something wrong!’

‘We’re too busy to see you now,’ I was told. ‘Send me some photos.’ So I did.

‘Take antihistamines and the swelling will settle,’ she advised.

But they made no difference. In agony, my lips were turning black.

Terrified, I rang my mate Gabriella, 26, who’d had regular cosmetic injectable treatments.

‘My lips are black, swollen, and I’m in agony,’ I sobbed. ‘Is this normal?’

‘No!’ she said.

xx

I was told I could even have lost my lips

Ellen Casparian/Supplied
xx

Me after my lips recovered

Ellen Casparian/Supplied

She rang the clinic she always used and the manager, Laurisa, who was also a registered nurse, told me to come 
in immediately.

‘You have a vascular occlusion in your lips,’ she said. ‘That’s a blockage of a blood vessel.

‘If untreated it could lead to tissue necrosis, which means your lips could die off.’

Laurisa injected me with a dissolver while
I sat there in tears.

After four hours, I was relieved as the swelling started going down.

Laurisa monitored my lips daily, and they finally returned to normal.

She didn’t even charge me. I was so grateful.

Six months later, I nervously tried again with Laurisa and was pleased with the result. I urge others to check a clinic’s credentials. I didn’t, and could have lost my lips. ●

Lip fillers

• Only doctors or registered nurses can legally administer injectables. 

• Lip fillers last around sixmonths and if done too often, can cause lipsto sag.

• Most common fillers contain hyaluronic acid, which is produced naturally by the body.

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