It has taken me more than 8 years to finally feel comfortable and confident to post a review about the Victorian Cosmetic Institute. In 2015 I went to the Victorian Cosmetic Institute & was talked into having 4mls of filler injected into my cheeks & nasolabial folds to lift my cheeks by the self-appointed "cosmetic medicine specialist". I was told that the filler was temporary & would last anywhere between 12-18 months.

Once the procedure was over I looked in the mirror & noticed one cheek was higher while the other cheek was lower & further out from my nose. My nasolabial folds were arched, crooked, unnatural & everytime I smiled my cheeks would pop out like golf balls. I hated the results because the filler added volume instead of a lift like I was led to believe.

Just the thought of what I would have looked like if I had gone ahead with the 12 month "alternative treatment plan" devised by the "cosmetic medicine specialist" who recommended 12mls of filler costing me over $9,000 and 60 units of Botox every 3 months for $720 per treatment gives me nightmares.

Soon after I contacted the owner of the Victorian Cosmetic Institute and complained about the botched filler. They assured me it was easily & instantly reversible by injecting Hyaluronidase which is used off label to dissolve fillers. After several attempts over the coming days & weeks it was quite obvious the filler was still present.

On one occasion the Victorian Cosmetic Institute dissolved my tear troughs via the cheeks yet I never had filler in my tear troughs to begin with. On another occasion while injecting Hyaluronidase they also started to inject filler into my temple without prior warning. When I asked them why they were injecting my temple they told me they were compensating me for my troubles yet never mentioned that the temple is a danger zone & a risky area to inject.

In total I had 6mls of filler injected into my face within 19 days, yet on the Victorian Cosmetic Institute's website it states that 1ml of filler is enough for the entire face. On each occasion the Victorian Cosmetic Institute never informed me of the risks, dangers & complications associated with Hyaluronidase & never gave me a consent form to read and sign.

A few years later I had a consultation with the Professor of Plastic Surgery who is an expert in filler complications & he told me that if the filler hadn't dissolved by now then it was permanent. He gave me a referral for an MRI of the head which detects the exact amount of filler & the exact location of the filler. The MRI report stated that I still had upto 4mls of filler in my face even after all the dissolving sessions from many years ago.

On Dec 3rd 2018 I showed the Victorian Cosmetic Institute my MRI results who had no idea at the time that MRI scans can detect fillers. Their recommendation was more dissolving but in a larger dose so they flooded my face with Hyaluronidase yet never recorded the amount in my clinical notes.
When I went back for a follow up consultation on Dec 10th 2018 they contacted the radiologist in my presence who also appeared not to be aware at the time that MRI's can detect filler but suggested I get another MRI anyway.

Not long after, the Victorian Cosmetic Institute contacted me via email thanking me for bringing the MRI information to their attention instead of thanking the Professor of Plastic Surgery who he had previously corresponded with via email regarding my MRI results. For some unknown reason it did not occur to the Victorian Cosmetic Institute that the Professor of Plastic Surgery deserved all the credit for having known all along that MRI's can detect dermal filler.

Instead the Victorian Cosmetic Institute chose to capitalise on this information by making a YouTube video claiming they had made this discovery after doing quite a few MRI's (not sure how this is possible as they are not radiologists). They also stated in their email that they wanted to inject a very high dose of Hyaluronidase to try and dissolve the filler again for the 5th time.

In the meantime I noticed that my facial structure had collapsed, I developed deep hollows under my eyes, my cheeks caved in, my marionette lines were deep, long & dragged down. The corners of my lips sunk into my mouth & my skin was extremely loose, saggy & stretchy all the way down to my neck.

Hyaluronidase did not dissolve my fillers but instead permanently dissolved my connective tissue as it can't distinguish between the skin's own HA & the HA in dermal fillers. Hyaluronidase has aged my facial features by 10 years & only a full facelift & necklift can fix this.

In 2019 & 2020 I took the Victorian Cosmetic Institute to VCAT a small claims court requesting a refund & a corrective advertising order because their website falsely advertised that the temporary fillers they use last anywhere between 12-18 months. the Victorian Cosmetic Institute was granted lawyers on the grounds that their business reputation was at stake while I had to represent myself.

I cross examined them with over 90 questions & I presented over 100 pages of supporting evidence & documentation while he only had photos & amended clinical notes. The radiologist was also present in court supporting the Victorian Cosmetic Institute The hearing was held over 2 days & my claims were eventually dismissed by the judge.

the Victorian Cosmetic Institute who "specialises" in cosmetic procedures got away with not providing a patch test for Hyaluronidase and not providing a consent form for Hyaluronidase on each occasion amongst other things.

Just recently I was threatened on 2 occasions with legal action for posting Google reviews on the Victorian Cosmetic Institute. Their lawyers instructed me to remove each review within 7 days otherwise I would be sued for defamation in the Federal Court of Australia. I wasn't even given a chance to respond to each email when my reviews were both taken down.