A 52-year-old woman, Krysta Carson who was often mistaken for her husband’s mother decided to get face filler to hide her more prominent laugh lines but was horrified when half her nose literally melted off
The woman, who is married to a man 10 years younger than her, says she was ‘terrified’ when her nostril ‘rotted away’ and detached from her face after the filler injection. She blames a “clumsy” injection using too much filler into a major blood vessel, causing her flesh to “melt off” two weeks after the procedure.
Carson’s entire nostril decomposed and turned black, and she was able to move it around like it was not properly attached to her face any longer. She added that the disfigurement made her lose the will to leave, and significantly damaged her three-decade-long career as an entertainer even though the doctor said it would be all fine within six weeks of the incident.
Krysta’s husband Redd Gill, who is 42-year-old, found a prosthetics specialist to help her. She has shared her journey on TikTok to warn others about the dangers of dermal fillers.
“I had been having Botox since the 90s and loved that and had amazing results,” she said. “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.”
“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.”
In 2020, Krysta went for a routine filler session before a wedding gig – but it went horribly wrong. She was given an injection which left her permanently disfigured. “When I got home that day [October 12 2020] I started feeling a strange numbing, tingling sensation. And it [my face] started getting really swollen and I started slurring my words.”
Krysta shared her horrifying experience, saying: “It was getting progressively worse. In the morning I called the doctor’s office and they said to come in right away. The doctor examined me and then left the room and came back looking very nervous. He told me he hit a blood vessel,”
She continued: “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. 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.”
Krysta was shocked when she saw her nostril detach from her upper lip. She said: “I was very shocked when that day came along where I was dressing the wounds with the ointment that my doctor gave me and I saw the bottom of my nostril snap and detach from my upper lip. It caused some PTSD when I witnessed my face burning and melting and falling off.”
The incident happened on Halloween 2020. Krysta recalled: “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.”
She equated the injury with frostbite, saying: “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 was unable to open her mouth due to the swelling from her injury, which made eating difficult and led to her losing 30 lbs in just a month. “My entire left nasal passage and the inside of my mouth also looked like that and felt like it was on fire,” she added.
She sought help from a doctor who specializes in reconstruction surgery. “I went to see another doctor who specialises in reconstruction surgery. He took my bandages off and handed me a mirror and said it’s not going to grow back.”
“That was a really rude awakening. I really didn’t realize until that day that it was just gone. That was when I lost my will to live. 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.”
However, Krysta couldn’t afford reconstructive surgery and has been wearing a prosthetic nose for over two years. She is now saving up for better fitting prosthetics.
Krysta expressed: “I felt relieved when I saw the prosthetic for the first time. I was just so relieved and grateful that I had a face again. My prosthetics person is a genius. I’m still screwed up and scarred and have to wear a fake nostril, but I can live a normal life.”
“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. I don’t know how I would have survived any of this without the prosthetics. They are amazing. I can’t wait for new ones.”
Krysta is now embracing her natural look, saying goodbye to Botox and fillers. “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.” She concluded.
