*Anti-wrinkle injections could cause blindness Cosmetic injections to rid the skin of wrinkles could cause permanent blindness, according to a recent study. The study details three case studies of people who went blind after injections of cosmetic filler to get rid of forehead wrinkles. Two females and a male, in their 30s, 40s and 60s, all lost their sight after receiving different cosmetic fillers – fat, bovine collagen, and hyaluaronic acid. In the three cases, the fillers are thought to have leached into the small blood vessels of the face and caused a blockage of the blood vessels supplying the eye. ‘The filler presumably enters the central retinal artery... and becomes embedded in the retinal tissues, potentially leading to irreversible and severe vision loss,’ the paper reads. Lead author of the study, Dr Michelle Carle from the Retina Vitreous Associates medical group in Los Angeles, told Live Science: “While this complication is very rare, it is very significant. A bruise will go away, but vision loss is permanent.” The US Food and Drug Administration currently approves the fillers for the centre of the face, but not for the forehead. This ‘off-label’ use can carry with it a risk of permanent blindness if complications occur, warn researchers. They suggest that patients should be told of the risk before the procedure, adding: ‘Physicians performing cosmetic enhancement procedures involving facial fillers need to be aware of this potential complication and should include significant vision loss as a possible rare complication.’ #optometry_today optometry.co.uk/news-and-features/news/?article=5694
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 14:12:55 +0000