Risk of Death from Injectable Fillers Due to Embolism?

All current FDA approved fillers as safe if used and injected properly. The key to good results in the use of fillers is to find a Plastic Surgeon who does his own filler injections and who is knowledgeable about which filler works the best for which area. For instance, I use Juvederm preferentially over Restylane for the lips as it is smoother and softer . On the other hand, I prefer Restylane for correction of the tear trough area around the eyes as it can last well over one year.
I like Radiesse which is a longer lasting filler for the nasolabial folds and reshape the patients cheeks and for deeper nasolabial folds.
I often use Botox in conjunction with a filler as it allows the filler to last about 50% longer to reshape the both the upper and lower face.

The type of embolism you're referring to is caused by injection of a foreign substance like filler into a blood vessel which causes a clot to form which can break off and then travel in the bloodstream causing damage.  Since this involves the skin (and not an embolism of the lungs or heart), it is unlikely to result in death, but more likely to result in necrosis (due to lack of oxygen to the skin which can result in the tissue dying) and resultant scarring and nerve damage.  This is particularly high risk around the eye area because an embolism could result in blindness. This is why nonphysicians and non-core trained specialists are advised to stay away from injecting in these higher risk regions. There are especially rich arcades of blood vessels in the infraorbital region and forehead, glabella and nasal region that are higher risk for embolism.This is something that is discussed amongst physicians at conferences and it is a known complication.  Although unlikely to occur in experienced hands, it is a risk that needs to be disclosed and considered.  I have done thousands of injections in over 15 years of practice and have never had this occur in a patient, but do know of numerous cases reported.  There are many more cases of this occurring with inexperienced and nonphysician or nurse injectors.  There is less risk when injecting superficially but greater risk when injecting deep.  One of the techniques I use to try to decrease risk of embolism is to inject lidocaine with epinephrine prior to injection of the filler.  The epinephrine causes vasoconstriction so that the blood vessels are less open therefore more difficult to inject directly into the vessel accidentally.  Fillers like Juvederm and Restylane now contain lidocaine so many practitioners do not inject local anesthesia prior to the filler anymore, and doing the lidocaine with epinephrine prior to filler does have the disadvantage of causing more bruising and swelling and also less precision with correction, but it offers the safety advantage of constricting blood vessels therefore decreasing risk of injecting filler into the blood vessel resulting in embolism.