An Unusual Case of Self-Injected Bovine Fat in Liquid Form to the Face for Cosmetic Reasons

Abstract

A 45-year-old woman injected bovine fat in liquid form in to her periorbital area and nasolabial folds near the lip margin and glabellar area to look younger. She was influenced by a TV program about fat augmentation of the aging face and collagen injection to the wrinkles. Major depression had been diagnosed for this woman 5 years previously, after which she used antidepressants and hypnotics irregularly. The prolonged edema of her face subsided within 3 months, along with the erythema, itching, and firmness at the injection sites. No liposuction of the injected material was planned because it had changed to solid form as soon as it was injected. Additionally, it was thought that surgical excision of the fat would not be effective and could harm the facial nerve branches because magnetic resonance imaging showed diffuse enlargement of subcutaneous tissue. Therefore, a conservative approach, such as medical treatment with close follow-up evaluation was preferred. The reported case is presented not only to add an interesting self-injection case to the literature, but also to show that patients with psychological problems may harm themselves by using inappropriate methods for cosmetic reasons under the effect of inaccurate information obtained from TV programs, press, family, and friends.