At the head of aesthetic medicine treatments, filler injections allow wrinkles to be erased and certain parts of the face to be reshaped. More and more widespread, these interventions intended to reduce facial fatigue cause few complications. But despite everything, they are not completely safe for the eyes, as Dr Michelle Carle, ophthalmologist in Los Angeles, reminded us.
Injecting collagen or special cosmetics under the skin for facial rejuvenation is an extremely common procedure with side effects usually limited to bruising or swelling of the skin. But Dr. Carle recently had to deal with three cases of vision loss in one or both eyes, in patients who had used cosmetic facial medicine.
Filler injections: watch out for the vessels around the eye
Filler injections with products like collagen are normally reserved for the middle part of the face, for example around the mouth. But they should not be used in the area around the eye because, according to the ophthalmologist, “the product can accidentally reach the small blood vessels in the face, find their way to the artery in the eye and block it. its blood supply “. This complication is extremely rare but it is not trivial: “a bruise disappears in a few days but the damage to the eyes is irreversible” insists the doctor.
Filler injections: 3 cases of blindness
The three cases of blindness encountered in patients were the subject of an article in the latest issue of the American professional journal Jama Ophthalmology. The first patient, a woman in her 40s, received an injection of bovine collagen and a skin filler to remove forehead wrinkles. After the injection was finished, she opened her eyes and could not see with her right eye.
Dr. Carle’s second patient, a man in his thirties, came to see him after losing part of his vision in his left eye, following an injection of hyaluronic acid. The doctor found that the blood supply to part of the retina was blocked by the product.
The latest patient, a healthy 60-year-old, experienced severe vision loss after receiving fat injections around the hairline.
