Artery blockage – a serious complication of fillers.

Dr. Irwin
February 22, 2014
My dr. Hit an artery and blocked the blood vessel, it was 72 hours before he could determine what was wrong and was unsure how to treat. He injected something to dissolve the juvederm, now I'm left with deep purple, black bruising around the base of my mouth up to my nose with rash steaks to my forehead. He also had me start using a nitro paste 96 hours after, that burns severely when I put it on. I had a hyperbaric oxygen treatment 48 hours after the injection to clear the filler, however if had to pay for it and ins does not cover. I can't afford more treatments. What else can I do?

I’m glad you wrote, thank you for sharing this and I’m very sad this happened to you! 

My position on this is that any doctor, PA-C, ARNP or well-supervised nurse (please don’t let anyone else inject fillers!)  must really understand facial anatomy,  know how to recognize this complication when it’s reported to them, and know how to treat it.  More on problems with fillers. 

Artery blockages with Artefill, silicone, and Radiesse are not reversible. Any hyaluronic acid filler (Restylane, Juvederm, Voluma, Belotero, etc.) can be reversed with an enzyme but there still may be permanent problems.  Sculptra tends not to cause this problem because it’s a liquid not a gel. 

Now …..since you are about a week or so out from the event, most dermatologists would recommend taking a baby aspirin daily (if you are not allergic) for the next several weeks to keep the blood “thinner” and making it easier for it to flow through the area.   Also applying a warm (not hot)  compress several times a day with several minutes of gentle massage with lotion to stimulate circulation and the repair process.   Your doctor should see you once a week at least until the problem has completely resolved. 

I hope this helps,

Dr. I

Dr. Brandith Irwin, MD

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