HOUSTON -- It's common for women to want fuller, sexier lips. But a Houston-area woman said she paid a high price for what seemed like a bargain procedure, KPRC Local 2 reported Monday.

The quest for larger lips led Marianne Guarena to a product called Radiesse, formerly known as Radiance.

"I just wanted to get my lips made larger," she said. "It was a typical injectable, I thought."

She was told the injection would not only enlarge her lips, but also last longer than other products, such as collagen or Botox.

"I was told it was supposed to last between three and five years," Guarena said.

But three weeks after the procedure, Guarena got hard lumps on her lips.

"I had two white lumps and a couple inside," she said. "(They were) about the size of a pea -- two peas."

The lumps, or granulomas in medical terms, were actually calcium deposits that formed when her lips reacted to the injection.

Plastic surgeon Michael Streitman has seen numerous patients with the same reaction and the same telltale lumps.

There's only one way to get rid of them.

"You have to make a cut inside the lip, inside the mouth and you have to surgically remove the product," Streitman said.

Guarena ended up having two procedures to remove her lumps.

"I had them cut out," she said. "(The doctor) basically had to pull it out with tweezers and just kind out scrape it out. It sounded like sand if you were to scrape on it. It was kind of surprising."

But even more surprising is that the makers of Radiesse know about the lumping side effect in the lips. In fact, the company specifically recommends doctors not use it on the lips.

In a statement from Bioform, the company said, "Our guidance is for physicians not to use Radiesse in the lips. As always, doctors are at their own discretion when using products for off-label use."

"Anyone can inject something. You can train someone off the street to do it," plastic surgeon Dr. Neal Hamilton said.

He believes most of the lumps and bumps from Radiesse can be blamed on the inexperience of the injector.

Regardless, he said he would never use the product on the lips. Other plastic surgeons KPRC spoke with agreed.

"It looks like someone put a string of pearls underneath your lip," Dr. Michael Siegel said.

So why do some physicians and cosmetic specialists in Houston go against the manufacturer's recommendation and offer the injectable to enlarge the lips?

"Most people are looking for the cheapest deal," Siegel said.

"Probably because it's more economical for the patient. It's a longer-lasting product," Streitman said.

An injection can range in price from $500 to $1,000, but it does not need to be repeated every six months like collagen and other products. That's what attracted Guarena in the first place.

One year and two surgeries later, she's still waiting for the lumps to disappear. But, in the meantime, she's using the Internet to warn others of Radiesse and its risks.

"I don't regret it because I did learn a lesson from it and I was able to share my experiences with other people," she said.

Through Guarena's Web site at www.lipaugmentation.com, patients from around the country can share their plastic surgery pitfalls, including those with Radiesse. She wants Houston patients and doctors to do the same.

KPRC pointed out that the plastic surgeons it spoke with said they use Radiesse successfully and frequently on other parts of the face for deep wrinkles.

Recent studies show the product is extremely effective in treating vocal cord problems and on AIDS patients with facial wasting.

Currently, Bioform is seeking FDA approval to use Radiesse for face contouring and for lines and wrinkles.