Can filler cause blindness or stroke?

This is the hardest filler question to read about, and it deserves a straight answer before any talk of price. A treatment's cost never outweighs knowing what its serious risks are.

The direct answer

Yes, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's consumer update. It says: The most serious risk associated with dermal fillers is accidental injection into a blood vessel.

It goes on: Filler that enters a blood vessel can cause skin necrosis (death of tissue), stroke, or blindness.

A second FDA page on soft tissue fillers repeats the point: Complications reported include necrosis (death of tissue), vision abnormalities including blindness, and stroke.

The FDA pages behind this answer

The two FDA pages quoted above are the consumer update on dermal filler dos and don'ts and the FDA overview of dermal fillers. For a clinical-practice look at one filler type, there is a PMC article on tear trough management with hyaluronic acid fillers.

What this means when you compare providers

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration names the mechanism, which is a blood vessel being entered by accident. That is a reason to ask providers how they prepare for that event, not a reason to compare only on price.

In Sacramento and Rancho Cordova, you can put the same questions to every office you call and weigh the answers side by side.

Questions to put to each provider

Ask each provider what their plan is if a complication occurs during or after your visit, and who you contact afterward. Ask whether any related care is covered in the quoted price. Have the written quote reflect their answer.

A closing observation

A low quote tells you little about preparation. Ask the preparedness question first and the price question second.