Vascular occlusion after filler

Vas­cu­lar occlu­si­on is a blocka­ge of a blood ves­sel that can occur after a fil­ler tre­at­ment. It is rare but con­side­red the most serious com­pli­ca­ti­on of injec­ta­bles and requi­res imme­dia­te action.

Cau­ses

If fil­ler enters a blood ves­sel or pres­ses stron­gly on it from out­side, blood sup­p­ly to the tis­sue down­stream is inter­rupt­ed. Are­as with num­e­rous or super­fi­ci­al ves­sels are par­ti­cu­lar­ly at risk, inclu­ding the nose, gla­bel­la, naso­la­bi­al fold and temples.

Sym­ptoms

War­ning signs include sud­den blan­ching of the skin fol­lo­wed by a bluish, mott­led dis­co­lou­ra­ti­on, seve­re pain and slow return of colour after pres­su­re. Wit­hout tre­at­ment, tis­sue dama­ge may fol­low. Very rare­ly, visi­on is affec­ted, an emer­gen­cy requi­ring imme­dia­te medi­cal help.

Tre­at­ment

With hyalu­ro­nic acid fil­lers, a high dose of hyalu­ro­ni­da­se is injec­ted straight away to dis­sol­ve the pro­duct. Warmth, mas­sa­ge and mea­su­res to impro­ve cir­cu­la­ti­on pro­vi­de addi­tio­nal sup­port. Pre­ven­ti­on reli­es on ana­to­mic­al know­ledge, slow injec­tion and, in cer­tain are­as, a blunt can­nu­la.

Matching tre­at­ment at Swiss Der­ma Cli­nic: Hyalu­ron Rem­oval with Hyla­se® at Swiss Der­ma Cli­nic in Zurich