Dental nurse, 21, claims she almost went blind and was 24 hours away from losing her upper lip after botched filler treatment blocked the blood flow to her face
- Amy Wiseman, 21, from Durham, paid £70 to go under the needle last month
- She claims the filler was injected into an artery, causing a vascular occlusion
- Says her lip had been starved of oxygen and she had 24 hours to save her face
- Claims ‘trusted’ beautician reassured her bruising was nothing to worry about
A dental nurse claims she almost went blind and lost her lip after botched filler treatment blocked the blood flow to her face.
Amy Wiseman, 21, from Durham, paid £70 to go under the needle last month by a beautician she ‘trusted’, but knew something wasn’t right when she was left in with a heavily bruised and swollen lip.
She claims the filler was injected into an artery causing a vascular occlusion, where blood can’t pass through a blood vessel. This can occur in the retina causing partial or total loss of vision.
Amy claims her lip had been starved of oxygen and she had 24 hours to save her face before the tissue completely died, which would have left her needing a skin graft.
The filler was dissolved by a medical practitioner the next day who told her that she’d been at risk of losing her eyesight – while a GP said she was lucky to still have a lip at all.
Amy Wiseman, 21, from Durham, had been getting lip filler from a ‘trusted’ beautician, who wasn’t medically trained, since she was 17. Amy is pictured after having previous lip filler treatment.
Last month she was left in with a heavily bruised and swollen lip (pictured), claiming filler was injected into an artery causing a vascular occlusion, where blood can’t pass through a blood vessel
‘I was in utter shock when they said I could lose my sight’, said Amy.
‘I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t know if my lips could be saved or if they would be permanently damaged.
‘I had reduced blood flow because the filler was blocking the artery so the bruising was blood that had nowhere to go. The dentist said if I didn’t get it dissolved in 24 hours then I would go blind.
‘If I didn’t work in a dentist, I would have lost my eyesight and the left side of my face and I would have needed a tissue graft in my face.
Amy claims her swollen lip (pictured) had been starved of oxygen and she had 24 hours to save her face before the tissue completely died, which would have left her needing a skin graft to save her face
‘What if I’d ended up losing my eyesight and face? I wouldn’t want to be here.’
Amy, who has been having the treatment since she was 17, had 0.5ml injected by a beautician but immediately noticed something wasn’t right.
After frantically messaging the beautician,who wasn’t medically trained, who’d carried out the treatment, she was assured that the bruising was normal.
Amy said: ‘After the first injection, I felt severe pain but I didn’t think anything of it because I know getting your lips done hurts but it was worse than I’ve experienced before.
‘I told the lady and she said it will look swollen because she’d hit a vein but it’s nothing to worry about unless its a vascular occlusion.
‘I asked how she knew it wasn’t that and she said it was fine.
Horrified Amy sent pictured of her swollen lip (pictured L-R) and sent it to a colleague, she was later told by medics that she could have lost her eyesight and movement in the left side of her face if her lip filler wasn’t dissolved within 24 hours.
Amy, pictured after having previous lip filler, says she the traumatic ordeal has knocked her confidence so much that it’s put her off lip filler treatment for life
‘I looked at my lips in the car and I was really upset. They were bruised straight away which they don’t normally do and the left side of my lip didn’t look right at all and the pain was awful. It was agony.
‘I sent a photo to the lady, she said it was just bruising and I trusted her because she’s done them before.
However after sharing photos her dramatically-swollen lip, a quick-thinking dental colleague had them checked by plastic surgeons and a GP, who warned her that the filler could have blocked the blood supply in her face.
How lip filler can can cause tissue death and permanent blindness: What is vascular occlusion?
Lip filler can cause blocked blood vessels in the face, which if left untreated can cause tissue death and permanent blindness
It differs from thrombosis in that it can be used to describe any form of blockage, not just one formed by a clot.
A vascular occlusion may be caused by an internal obstruction, including filler material, or occur as a result of external compression.
When it occurs in a major vein, it can, in some cases, cause deep vein thrombosis.
The condition is also relatively common in the retina, and can cause partial or total loss of vision.
‘Later on the pain got really bad and I was really worried so I sent a photo to a dentist at work and they said I needed to go to the hospital.
‘I went but there was a six-hour wait so I thought I’d leave it until the morning.
‘My colleague sent photos to GPs and plastic surgeons she knows who said I needed to get it dissolved as soon as possible.
‘The dentist dissolved the filler and the GP they’d been in touch with said the fact I still had my lip was unbelievable.
‘If it wasn’t for me working in a dentist, I would have taken the lady’s advice. They used six cartridges over two days to dissolve 0.5ml of filler.’
Amy says she the traumatic ordeal has knocked her confidence so much that it’s put her off lip filler treatment for life.
Amy said: ‘One side of my lips is smaller than the other where I’ve had the filler dissolved because it was an emergency so I was so grateful we have to wear masks because it’s made me feel so down.
‘It’s my face at the end of the day and I was so concerned I would have permanent damage. I started getting them at 17 and it became a habit.
‘It’s one of those things. Some people like going out drinking. I like the way they look but this has made me realise that there’s more to life than getting lip filler. I’m still very traumatised.’
Amy is sharing her ordeal in a bid to raise awareness and urge people to only get lip filler treatment by medically trained professionals.
‘It has put me off and I wouldn’t get them done again but if I was to get them done again I’d go to someone who is medically trained’, said Amy.
‘People do a lip filler course in a day and they’re qualified. A medic could have diagnosed the issue and resolved it straight away.
‘People need to be made aware of how dangerous it can be. Someone else might find out an even harder way.’
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