Successful Reversal of Hyaluronic Acid-Induced Retinal Artery Occlusion via Blunt Needle Injection for Frown Lines

Yuequ Deng1, Wei Chen1, Yunfeng Zhu1

  • 1Department of Plastic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 262 Zhongshan North Road, Gulou, Nanjing, 210003, Jiangsu, China.

Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
|October 21, 2024
PubMed

A 33-year-old female patient was admitted to our hospital 5 h after developing sudden unclear vision in her left eye following injection of hyaluronic acid (periorbital dermis of the left eye) into the frown lines. She was diagnosed with acute retinal artery occlusion and underwent emergency cerebral angiography and hyaluronidase intervention for vascular recanalization treatment. In addition, she received postoperative neurotrophic treatment, as well as therapies to improve circulation, eliminate edema, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. These treatments transformed left eye vision (from hand movement to a central visual acuity of 0.5). This study highlights a potential complication of hyaluronic acid injections using blunt needles: vascular embolization. Given this risk, health-care providers should exercise extreme caution during the injection procedure. In addition, prompt intervention is crucial in cases of embolization.Level of Evidence IV This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.