Surgical & Injectable Complications (what surgeons know from the data)

I created AB BIO's award-winning line of beauty products because I know the pitfalls of surgery. Botox, surgical treatments, and other under-the-knife approaches to skincare may provide short-term results, but they often fail to give the skin what it really needs.

On this page, learn more about the complications, limited longevity, and risks associated with surgical and injectable skincare products. Read the first-hand scientific studies, and learn about how ABSOLUTE YOUTH's approach to skincare gives your skin what it really needs to not just survive - but to thrive.

Facelift complication rates (systematic/meta-analyses)

• Hematoma is the most common facelift complication: ~0.6–14%, varying by technique and risk factors (ASJ Open Forum review). 

• Technique-by-technique analyses (SMAS plication vs deep-plane, composite, etc.) show different profiles for temporary facial nerve injury, hematoma, skin necrosis, infection (recent systematic/meta reviews report similar ranges) (Plastic & Reconstructive-adjacent literature). 

• A dedicated systematic review on nerve injury quantifies rates and types of injury after facelifts — one of the most feared complications (see ASJ/PRS reviews for risk ranges). (ASJ Open Forum overview). 

Infection / non-healing / scarring

• Reviews detail skin-flap ischemia/necrosis, surgical-site infection, delayed healing, and unfavourable scarring — uncommon but consequential (ASJ Open Forum; JPRAS review). 

Injectables (fillers/Botox) — rare, but real catastrophes

• Vascular occlusion per syringe: ~1 in 6,410 with needles vs 1 in 40,882 with cannulas (370 dermatologists, cohort) — most resolved without sequelae (JAMA Dermatology). 

• Blindness: updated reviews add new cases on top of earlier series; high-risk zones include the nose, glabella, forehead, nasolabial fold; rare but often irreversible (ASJ 2019 update PDF; 2024 ASJ update). 

• Broader clinical reviews catalogue ischemia, necrosis, nodules/granulomas, vision-threatening events and note likely under-reporting as volumes grow (JAMA Dermatology report; news summaries). 

How Long do Facelifts “Last” (And When Aging Shows Again)

• Secondary facelift ~a decade later: PRS data show many patients present around the 10-year mark; secondary procedures can have similar durability and low complication rates in expert hands (PRS 2013 abstract; ASPS summary). 

• Earlier PRS coverage confirms durability but ageing continues — recurrent soft-tissue descent is the reason patients return years later (UTSW/PRS summary page). 

• Media (context only): deep-plane results often cited as ~10–15 years, technique- and patient-dependent (The Guardian explainer). 

Plain-English takeaway: surgery can reset the clock, but the clock keeps ticking — most see the return of laxity and wrinkles within ~a decade, prompting touch-ups or a second lift. 

Satisfaction, Repeat Surgery, and Psychological Effects

• Decision regret / dissatisfaction: a systematic review reported regret ranging 0–47% (breast reconstruction), 5–9% (breast augmentation), ~11–33% (body contouring). 

• Revision example — rhinoplasty: literature revisits revision rates and risk factors for dissatisfaction and repeat surgery (overview sources available). 

• Psychological sequelae: reviews note mixed mental-health outcomes; risk of depression/anxiety rises in vulnerable subgroups. 

• Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD): meta-analysis estimates ~15% prevalence among plastic-surgery patients (range varies by cohort). 

Injectables: Risks, Longevity, “Pillow Face,” Migration, & (Ir)reversibility

How often do serious complications happen?

• VO risk per syringe: 1/6,410 (needle) vs 1/40,882 (cannula). 

• Vision loss: updates added 48 new cases (2015–2018) to the prior 98, concentrated in nose, glabella, forehead, nasolabial fold; rare but often permanent. 

• Nodules/granulomas/late reactions: ~0.6–0.8% nodules/hypersensitivity; 0.01–1% granulomas; late-onset reactions can appear weeks to years later. 

• BoNT-A: overall low AE rates (mostly transient), but AEs > placebo in pooled analyses. 

2) “Pillow face” — why it happens

• Overfilling + HA water-binding → persistent malar oedema; often requires hyaluronidase.

• Delayed inflammatory reactions/biofilm → recurrent puffiness long after injections; migration from the original site is reported (summarised across clinical reviews). 

3) Can you remove what’s been injected?

• HA fillers: reversible with hyaluronidase.

• Non-HA fillers (CaHA, PLLA, PMMA): not dissolvable with hyaluronidase; management may require steroids/5-FU/antibiotics or surgical removal (technical/systematic reviews).

• Persistence: imaging shows some materials persist months to “indefinitely.” 

4) How long do injectables last (and do they “accumulate”)?

• HA fillers: typically 6–18 months (product/plane/metabolism dependent).

• BoNT-A: ~3–4 months on average.

• Repeated HA in the same planes can be associated with persistent oedema and late inflammatory nodules in a susceptible subset — experienced clinically as “accumulation.” 

Even the “simple” injectables aren’t simple. The best available data put filler-induced vascular occlusion at ~1 in 6,410 syringes with needles vs ~1 in 40,882 with cannulas, and document 100+ published cases of blindness across high-risk zones like the nose and glabella. Beyond day-of swelling, 0.6–0.8% develop nodules/hypersensitivity, with rare granulomas (0.01–1%) emerging months to years later — sometimes after repeat sessions. HA can be dissolved with hyaluronidase; CaHA, PLLA, PMMA cannot, leaving medical or surgical management. “Pillow face” often reflects overfilling, oedema, migration, and late inflammation — not a trend. Botox is temporary (~3–4 months); fillers range from months to permanent; some materials (and even HA in certain planes) can persist or migrate well beyond the selfie. 

AB BIO®: What We Solve — With Proof

Independent test results

• Hamilton Lab (28 days, twice-daily): ≈40% wrinkle reduction; +16% smoothness; +13% firmness; +9% elasticity in women and men (Hamilton Lab results — AB BIO® blog). 

• Dermatological safety as presented on our product page: no irritation/sensitisation observed in the tested cohort (ABSOLUTE YOUTH Cream product page). 

Mechanism 

AB BIO® pairs low-molecular-weight & nanoparticle hyaluronic acid with botanicals (tremella, papaya enzyme, horse-chestnut/escin) to support flow (oxygen & nutrients) and lymphatic drainage. Our brand claim: nanoparticle HA engineered at specific low Da sizes to penetrate without needles. Literature supports that LMW-HA (≈5–8 kDa up to ~50 kDa) can traverse the stratum corneum and be detected in epidermis/dermis in certain models; nanoparticulation enhances penetration. (Background summaries) 

Pain point → What you want → What AB BIO® delivers

• Wrinkles/fine lines → fast, visible reduction without needles → ≈40% reduction in 28 days. 

• Sagging/laxity (jawline, cheeks, neck) → a lifted, tighter look → +13% firmness; +9% elasticity. 

• Dullness/loss of glow → brightness without irritation → +16% smoothness; tremella film-forming hydration. 

• Puffiness/fragile capillaries → de-puff + microcirculation support → horse-chestnut (escin) spotlight (Horse-chestnut in our Toner). 

• Sensitive skin → results without irritation → dermatological testing reported none in the tested cohort (ABSOLUTE YOUTH Cream). 

If scalpels and syringes truly restored youth, surgeons would look eternally young. They do not — because intervention is not regeneration. Only the body heals. We restore its flow so it can.