"I Couldn't Speak": Russian Women Nearly Disabled by Lip Augmentation
In pursuit of ideal beauty, women are sometimes willing to take risky steps. For example, turning to an unverified cosmetologist who promises seductively plump lips, quickly and without questions. The victims of such a practitioner are the subjects of a new episode of the show What Have I Done (16+) on the channel Friday. The girls faced severe consequences after being injected with an uncertified substance. One developed a huge lump under her lip, while the other lost the ability to speak.
Ksenia from Moscow is a blogger. She fell for the trend of large lips. She herself explained that it might have happened due to a lack of love in her life. She always felt she wasn«t good enough.
The girl turned not to some back-alley operator, but to a cosmetologist at a reputable clinic in central Moscow. But that did not protect her. However, as Ksenia admits, the first few years after the procedure there were no health problems. She liked the effect of the plump lips.
«What drug was used for the procedure, what method—I wasn»t concerned about that back then. No one warned me about possible consequences or reactions. I liked everything. And very soon I got so used to the new look that it seemed my lips were too small. I needed more,« recalls Ksenia.
A year later, the girl went to have her lips augmented again. The severe consequences appeared much later, after seven years.
«First, just a little bubble formed under my lip. And it gradually started to grow, grow, grow. It was increasing by a millimeter a year. I thought, well, it will go away. But it didn»t. Then constant inflammation of the mucosa began: I couldn«t drink hot tea, I even had a reaction to toothpastes. Pain appeared. Taking a bite of an apple became a big problem,» the show«s subject recounts.
As a result, Ksenia has been battling the consequences of the botched cosmetic procedure for 15 years. During this time, not only has a bluish discoloration formed around her lips, but she has also lost sensitivity—the girl can no longer distinguish hot from cold.
Ksenia went back to the same clinic, but they did not remove all the material. As a result, her upper lip became deformed, and the hernia remained.
The consequences were even worse for the second victim of lip augmentation.
Aishat is from Dagestan. In her homeland, a provocative appearance in girls is frowned upon. Nevertheless, local beauties follow cosmetic trends. Her friends at work insisted on getting her lips done: they convinced her this harmless procedure would improve her appearance. And Aishat listened.
She went «to get lips» together with a friend. And afterwards, she learned from that same friend that they had been injected with an uncertified substance—medical Vaseline. The girl immediately felt anxiety, understanding the consequences could be serious. She didn«t have to wait long for them.
«I didn»t want to believe it. And at first I didn«t, because initially everything with my lips was normal,» recalls Aishat. «I felt that something was happening to my body, my temperature was rising, I felt weak, constantly wanted to sleep, and severe swelling appeared.»
Doctors state that getting rid of Vaseline is very difficult. It is literally a time bomb for the body. Removing the material is incredibly complex: it spreads, is very toxic, and a tumor can form in its place.
«I had such swelling that I couldn»t even drink from a glass. I couldn«t speak,» says Aishat.
The surgeon who eventually undertook the girl«s rescue said he cut open both of Aishat»s lips. The initial results, which restored sensitivity, lasted only six months. Then the girl returned to the clinic again—the Vaseline had grown.
«If the upper lip was in a normal state, then necrosis began on the lower one. If nothing is done, it will lead to the person being left without lips,» the doctor said.
Aishat«s situation is complicated by the fact that her body reacts very aggressively to the Vaseline. Her lips continue to swell until her face is completely distorted. Only strong hormonal therapy helps cope with this, but it cannot be overused.
The girl has had to endure many operations, spending more than half a million rubles (approx. $5,400 at current rates), but she has not yet been able to completely rid herself of the problem. She still faces a long recovery. Doctors suggest a special Brazilian drug might help remove the Vaseline from the body. But nothing like that exists in Russia yet.
Doctors regularly have to deal with the consequences of unsuccessful lip augmentation. Medical professionals find all sorts of things in their patients« tissues—from sunflower oil to live larvae. Therefore, doctors recommend thinking very carefully before deciding on such procedures.
