Can you get blind from cheek and lip fillers?

Question

I'm really wanting to get my cheeks done, but I've just found out that fillers can leave you instantly blind. I've had my lips done before, and I was under the impression from my doctor that blindness would only occur if I had a vascular occlusion which wasn't properly dealt with immediately. Am I putting myself at risk everytime I get my lips done? Can you get instantly blind from this? And because the cheeks are so close to the eyes , is this considered a "dangerous" area? Thanks

Leonard Grossman, MD · Answer

Causing blindness through vascular occlusion is extremely, extremely rare and most of the time occurs at the hands of an inexperienced physician. I would listen to your treating physician and receive the treatment that you deserve. Good luck from New York City

Justin Perron, MBBS, FRACS · Answer

Thanks for your question mj123lo! Although rare, blindness developing after dermal filler injections is a possible complication to be aware of. There are areas of the face with an increased risk of blindness occurring such as tear trough, glabellar and nose injections. However, if filler is injected into any vessel of the face there is potential for this to travel to smaller vessels around the eye leading to vision loss. It is essential that your injector is knowledgeable in the anatomy of the face, competent in treating vascular complications and has the appropriate emergency equipment including Hyaluronidase available onsite.
Thanks!

Ken Dolynchuk, MD · Answer

The incidence is rare as in 1 reported incident in the US and a few in Europe. It is the result of retrograde flow of filler through the arteries around the orbit. For this to happen a sharp needle inserted blindly into the artery and forceful injection carried out without checking for flash back in the syringe must occur. In the recent past strong recommendations for prevention using cannulae which are blunt and staying away from known arteries in the face, as well as withdrawing the plunger to assess whether a vessel has been entered before injection takes place, have been made. It is still possible to occlude the arteries locally around an injection site and vigilance with prompt treatment can avert complications, as your doctor will no doubt alert you to, as a precaution. An enzyme to digest hyaluronic acid in the filler can be injected to restore normal tissue perfusion. Hope this answers your question.

Anteneh Roba, MD · Answer

Yes, if filler is inadvertently injected into a blood vessel it can cause blindness,  skin ulceration even strokes depending  on where the injection was administered.

Jo Herzog, MD · Answer

Blindness from fillers is very rare and hopefully most physicians will never see this happen in their life time. However, it is not impossible. I have a friend that had fat removed from one area, by a good plastic surgeon,  and used in her cheeks and she did experience vision loss. I think fat is more risky then other fillers but you are taking a bigger risk when you get into your car and drive to the doctors office.

Sagar Patel, MD · Answer

If the vascular occulusion occurs and the particle migrated to the eye vessel it can cause blindness. Good news is this extremely rare.

Can you get blind from cheek and lip fillers?

Answers (6)

More Dermal Fillers Questions

6 months post tear trough filler and red bump developed. Could the filler got infected? (photo)

I am getting my BBL done in November. Can they do fillers under my eyes while I'm under anesthesia?

Should I get a filler for jaw line contouring? Kybella? Or both? (Photo)

I'm not sure what I should do about my protruding mouth area? (Photos)

After Botox, I get a large dent/hollow/wrinkle above my eyebrows. Approx how much filler would be needed to fix this?

WE SEND PRETTY
EMAILS