BBC | People who have cosmetic filler injections in their face should be warned of the risk of a dangerous complication involving blocked arteries that can lead to skin loss and even blindness due to damaged blood flow, say experts.
Researchers used ultrasound to study 100 cases of filler injections that had gone wrong.
Clinics are now being advised to carry out ultrasounds before giving dermal fillers in the face, to avoid harming any nearby arteries.
Lead researcher Dr Rosa Sigrist says that, although uncommon, such "vascular occlusion" events - where the filler is injected into or too close to blood vessels - can be devastating because they can cause tissue death and facial deformity if not treated.
Dermal fillers are injectable substances, commonly used to target wrinkles and smooth or "rejuvenate" the skin.
Sometimes they are used to contour or shape the nose or lips.
Areas around the nose are particularly risky injection sites, says Dr Sigrist, because nasal blood vessels communicate with some very important parts of the head.
Damage to these vessels can cause severe complications including skin damage, blindness and stroke, she explains.
Dr Sigrist's team, from the University of São Paulo in Brazil, studied filler-related vascular complications in 100 patients across four radiology centers (two in Brazil, one in Colombia and one in Chile), one dermatology centre in the Netherlands and one plastic surgery centre in the US between May 2022 and April 2025.