Male patient lost vision in left eye after filler injection for rejuvenation

NDO - After receiving a new generation of filler to remove forehead wrinkles at a private spa recommended by an acquaintance, a 45-year-old male patient had to be hospitalized in an emergency with complete loss of vision in his left eye.

This is one of the serious and rare complications of filler injection, which can lead to permanent and irreversible blindness due to the composition of the filler changing in combination with a new type of filler.

According to the patient, because he is male, he is not used to learning about aesthetics and was not clearly advised by the spa about the risks. The person performing the procedure only said that "subcutaneous injection is very simple". Trusting the person he knew who had done it and recommended it, he agreed to get a filler injection to rejuvenate (remove wrinkles) his forehead. However, after only 2-3 injections, the patient experienced severe pain in his forehead, his left eye quickly blurred, and then lost vision. He immediately asked to stop the injection and went to the hospital for emergency care.

At Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, considering this a critical emergency, doctors activated an interdisciplinary emergency procedure including maxillofacial surgery-cosmetic surgery, anesthesia-resuscitation, vascular intervention, and diagnostic imaging.

At the same time, the hospital invited experts from the Central Eye Hospital to coordinate the consultation. The results determined that the patient had central retinal artery occlusion in the left eye - a serious complication caused by incorrect filler injection technique.

The patient was treated aggressively with vasodilators, anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-thrombotic drugs and intensive eye interventions. Shortly after the doctors injected the usual antidote, the patient's vision showed signs of improvement and he was gradually able to see light.

However, the recovery only lasted a short time, in the following hours, the patient's vision almost did not improve anymore but continued to deteriorate seriously, despite the doctors' best efforts for many more hours.

To date, the patient's ability to recover vision is almost impossible.

Up to now, the patient's ability to recover vision is almost very difficult. However, due to relatively timely treatment, doctors have been able to preserve eye movement function and normal eyelid levator muscle function, the skin and muscles around the eyeball have recovered almost normally, without much impact on the patient's aesthetics, function and ability to integrate into society.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hong Ha - Head of the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Plastic and Aesthetics, the filler used in this case is a mixture of slow-dissolving fillers combining 2 types of fillers, 1 type that can have a soluble injectable solution (hyaluronic acid), and 1 type that does not have an antidote for injection. Therefore, when an accident or complication occurs, the usual antidote injection can only dissolve the soluble filler, while the filler without an antidote remains and causes complications that cannot be cured.

In particular, non-professionals often mistakenly believe that these are safe products that do not cause vascular occlusion, so they can be injected in all areas of the body.

However, the forehead, bridge of the nose, and around the eyes are areas where the blood vessels are directly connected to the eye artery. When filler is injected incorrectly, with too much force, or using an inappropriate type of filler, the filler can penetrate the blood vessels, causing retinal vascular occlusion, and also the vessels for muscles, fat, and tissues around the eyeball. Infection, pus tumors, and tissue necrosis can occur.

This is an alarming complication, causing extremely serious consequences, which may not be reversible if treated slowly. The above case continues to be a stern warning about unsafe beauty treatments.

According to Dr. Ha, filler injection procedures must be performed by specialists who are well-trained in cosmetic surgery, facial anatomy, and injection techniques. At Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, cosmetic surgeons must undergo at least 3 years of specialized training to fully understand the risks and how to handle complications when they occur.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/benh-nhan-nam-mat-thi-luc-mat-trai-sau-khi-tiem-chat-lam-day-de-tre-hoa-post883065.html