Can PRP injection to the under eye area cause blindess?

Question

Hello, I had a PRP injection to my face yesterday, only using the plasma, not any filler. I thought since the plasma is thin and your own blood there is no risk of going blind from it.. I feel irritation in my eye and some swelling under the eye area, and I am now paranoid I will go blind. My vision was fine after the procedure. Is it still possible to have vision loss because of a PRP under eye injection?

Hung William Song, MD · Answer

A rare but known complication of injecting dermal fillers around the eye and forehead is vision loss. I follow this very closely and as of yet, there has been no reported cases of vision loss with PRP. Vision loss with fillers occur if the filler is injected into an artery that feeds blood to the back of the eye where the optic nerve is. The filler would have to travel through the tiny blood vessel to reach the danger area this would happen if too much pressure is applied while injecting and is very rare. The reason we do not see this happening with PRP is because PRP is composed of components of the blood that, even if it was inadvertently injected into a vessel would not pose the same kind of risk that a filler would. Also, there is usually a small amount of anticoagulant in the PRP so it is unlikely to cause a clot. The swelling and irritation from the PRP is expected and will resolve within a few days. PRP is the safest injection you can get in that area. If you get vision loss from your PRP injection, you would be the first.

Nima Shemirani, MD · Answer

Hi @ingridada! PRP injections are one of the safer under eye injections to get, but no aesthetic procedure is without risk. It is incredibly rare, but as with filler if administered incorrectly, PRP injections can cause blindness, infection, or internal bleeding to name a few adverse effects.

Jayanthy Ravindran, MS, DNB, MRCS · Answer

Platelet-rich plasma is excellent for reducing fine lines and wrinkles identified as crow's feet.  Hence, on its own, it is a safe method to get performed under the eyes with the supervision of a trained professional! However, on the other hand, this procedure may have some possible adverse consequences if not done accurately and by the apt physician. 
So what are some inherent risks of PRP under the eyes? 
There have been circumstances where patients have faced blindness due to the development of blood clots that transpired when the platelets were introduced too deep into the blood vessels. This can happen when a doctor is inexperienced or does not have wide knowledge about facial anatomy. This neglect can also lead to serious implications when micro-needling. 
Nevertheless, it is a rare complication and should be safe as long as the specialist performing the method is well experienced and is preferably a surgeon.

Anshul Gambhir, MD · Answer

Thank you for your message! To my knowledge there have been no reported cases of blindness after PRP injections. Dermal filler injections have a low risk of this, but PRP is typically absorbed into the body very quickly. Swelling and bruising are possible with any type of injection so it is likely it is just some irritation from the swelling. If the symptoms persist, get worse, or you have a change in vision I would follow up ASAP however!

Anteneh Roba, MD · Answer

I am not aware of any reported incidents of blindness post PRP injections to the face. I have been injecting PRP for different reasons over the last 5 years and never had any problems.

Steven F. Weiner, MD · Answer

I recently read a report of this occurring. Platelets are used in clotting so it is possible that PRP can clot vessels leading to the eye and cause blindness. This has to be extremely rare because I hadn't heard of this before. If blindness is to occur after filler (unknown for PRP), it most often will happen immediately and all will happen in the first 24 hours. I think you are probably ok, but if you are concerned enough, please see an Ophthalmologist soon. The PRP injections were in the glabellar area and associated with skin necrosis and brain infarction too. Link is below.

Can PRP injection to the under eye area cause blindess?

Answers (6)

More PRP Injections Questions

Will PRP injections help flatten a keloid?

Was my PRP under eyes technique normal?

What are some remedies to expedite the process of getting facial swelling to go down? (Photos)

Does PRP really works for fine lines, crepey skin and wrinkles under eyes? (Photo)

WE SEND PRETTY
EMAILS