In 2006, Tracie Samara was very excited to have won a contest to have lower lid fillers. What she didn’t know was that while the doctor was technically an M.D., he was using fillers not approved for use in the face. After a few sessions, her lids started to get swollen and infected. Eventually, her skin broke open and nodules developed. She had some surgery at the Bascom Eye Institute to try to remove the lesions, but more was required — much more. That’s where Dr. John J. Martin, Jr., came in. “He took on my very difficult case, out of compassion, when no one else would,” says Ms. Samara, a former model and beauty queen. “He has gone above and beyond the known sciences of removal and reconstruction to give me my face back — he has given me my life back!” Over the past 6 years, Dr. Martin has done multiple surgeries to try and remove the illegal fillers, put the lids back into their proper position, and add fat to replace the lost volume. “As a result of the scarring and inflammation, healing is always a little slower than usual and has to be done as a staged procedure,” says Dr. Martin. The lesson here? Only go to licensed injector who is using approved fillers for the face. If you try to save money on fillers, you may end up paying more to fix the problems.; JohnMartinMD.com.
