WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT
A woman was horrified after the filler she used to hide her smile lines made half her nose fall off, saying she wants others to 'choose their doctor wisely'.
Krysta Carten says she used to be repeatedly mistaken for her husband’s mum, so decided to get dermal filler – having also had Botox for nearly 20 years.
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However, she claims her doctor administered a ‘clumsy’ injection of too much filler into a major blood vessel, which caused the flesh to die and ‘melt off’ just two weeks later.
Krysta, 52, said: "I had been having Botox since the 90s and loved that and had amazing results.
"My husband is 10 years younger than me and after he joined me here [in Seattle], in a period of about two weeks I got mistaken for his mother three times.
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"I don't know if it was my neck or my cheek or what was giving away the difference in our ages, but I needed to do something about this. I sought out filler in 2015.
"I felt like I was really safe and in really good hands so I signed the consent form, which just had some warnings about bruising and swelling and a risk of infection.
"I didn't see anything else that concerned me at all."
The professional entertainer has had filler injected into her smile lines each year since 2016, and had previously loved the results.
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That is until a vascular occlusion caused the skin inside her mouth, nose and around her left nostril to become necrotic and fall off – something she says ruined her career of 30 years.
Krysta, from Seattle, Washington, recalled how she ‘started feeling a strange numbing, tingling sensation’ when she got home from having the filler, while her face swelled up and she began slurring words.
"In the morning I called the doctor's office and they said to come in right away,” she continued.
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"The doctor examined me and then left the room and came back looking very nervous. He told me he hit a blood vessel.
"I was terrified and confused and just did whatever they suggested and waited for more information when I would go back to the office every day.
"He still never told me that I could get necrosis and lose pieces of my face.
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"He kept saying it's going to get worse before it gets better but you're probably going to be fine in about six weeks.”
She said she felt ‘very shocked’ when she was dressing her wounds and saw the bottom of her nostril ‘snap and detach’ from her upper lip.
"It caused some PTSD when I witnessed my face burning and melting and falling off,” Krysta said.
"That was really terrifying. It was Halloween of 2020 the day that my entire left nostril just detached and was dangling there by a tiny piece of flesh. I was in shock and terrified.
"When you hit a blood vessel it blocks it and freezes it. It's similar to a frostbite injury. The flesh around it just dies and falls off.
"I think [the doctor] was particularly clumsy and careless in his injection and because it was such a big amount and a major blood vessel, it caused an extra large amount of damage."
Krysta said her mouth was swollen shut, meaning she was unable to eat and ended up dropping 30lbs in just 30 days.
Unable to afford reconstructive surgery, she eventually went to visit a facial prosthetics specialist found by her husband Redd Gill, 42, which was when she was told the nose was not going to grow back.
"That was when I lost my will to live,” Krysta said.
“I knew I couldn't work. I've been working as a model and singer for 30 years and you can't do a lot without a whole face.
"I haven't been able to go back to work full time because I have such horrible breathing and breath support issues with my missing nostril and shrivelled nasal passage.
"It was a great life until this happened to me. I really miss it."
Krysta is now sharing her prosthetics journey on TikTok to warn others of the potential dangers of dermal fillers, while also showing how she uses makeup and jewellery to hide her scars.
She is now also saving up for a new prosthetic piece that will fit her face better.
"I'm still screwed up and scarred and have to wear a fake nostril, but I can live a normal life,” she said.
"It's attached to a nasal stent so it's a breathing tube with a tiny little nostril at the end of it.
"When I put the prosthetic in it opens up that shrivelled, scarred nasal passage. It's functional as a breathing device.”
Krysta has now stopped all Botox and filler treatments and has embraced natural ageing, adding: "It's really important to me that this doesn't happen to anyone else. If I was using this for years thinking it's totally safe, there could be people thinking the same.
"I just want people to know about it and choose their doctor wisely - that's so important."
Jess Hardiman