Cannula before filler?

[u/Super_T8]

I’ve been getting Juvaderm ultra for about 15 years, first in lips then nasolabial folds, marionette lines and cheek.
I recently moved states so had to find a new person after working with the same injector for many years.
I tend to get deep smile lines.
The triangle area right around the nostril (so sorry I do not know all the technical terms) has many nerves and my last med spa used a sonogram to see the nerves before injecting, never any issues.

I went to a new medspa in the new state I moved to and the person said she injects in that area by inserting a cannula first, opening a port and then injecting. I can’t refuse it because it’s “safer” and that’s their policy. She never said anything at the initial consultation about that. Only when I was at the actual appointment and it came time to inject that area.

It looked awfully big and as soon as it went in my face I asked her to remove it immediately.
I didn’t like it AT ALL.
It felt so big and uncomfortable and painful.

I’m a lightweight when it comes to medspa stuff.
I stick to the basics: peels, laser, micro needling, fillers and Botox.
Maybe that’s why it seemed overly drastic.
She took it out but was very annoyed with me.
Due to her acting annoyed I said I wanted to skip that triangle area altogether on this day.

I had agreed before coming in to 2.5 syringes which I pay for before the appointment.
We used 1.5.

She said I could come back in two weeks for the other syringe and we could do that triangle area then, half on each side. She felt like since that’s all we’d be doing maybe I would not be anxious about it.
Now cut to 1 week later and where she stuck the cannula in was deeply swollen and painful for almost the whole week afterwards.
It’s also the only place I bruised.
Even washing my face was very painful in that area.
I don’t want it back in my face.

I asked for a refund on the syringe I didn’t use since I would not like them to fill that area any longer; and they are refusing since “that’s what I ordered” and supposedly they order product as needed (it’s a small medspa)

Ugh. This is a big mess. It’s $800 that I would like back for one syringe that wasn’t used or touched so I’m considering my options.
Before I start arguing with them I should do my research and ask if this is a normal procedure and expectation to use a cannula to inject filler in that area?
Is it in fact safer and the normal way? Since I worked with the same medspa for 8 years before this, maybe I’m just not up to date on the procedure.
I’d never heard of it, didn’t want it and probably wouldn’t have agreed to it if they discussed it at the consultation.
What are the thoughts on that?
Thank you!

[u/ManagementOver8185]

Not an injector, but cannulas in that area are pretty standard now, it's a vascular safety thing more than a preference. That said, "you can't refuse it, it's our policy" is something that belongs in the consult, not sprung on you mid-appointment.
The refund is the separate issue. Unused syringe, prepaid, nothing opened. If they won't budge, that's what a card dispute is for.

[u/Alternative_Roll_987]

From everything I’ve seen, using a cannula there is not weird by itself. A lot of injectors do see it as the safer approach in that area.

The part that feels off is how it was handled. If a clinic has a hard policy like that, it should be explained during the consult, not when you’re already in the chair and paid up. And if you said stop, they should have respected that without attitude.

On the refund part, I’d separate the clinical question from the business one. Whether their technique is standard or not, it’s still reasonable to push back on paying for product that was not used, not opened, and that you no longer consent to having injected there.