Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy to Avoid Blindness From Filler Injection

The most serious complication of filler or fat injection is blindness. According to a recent systematic review of 98 patients of blindness provoked by filler or fat injection, only 2 patients had the outcome of a complete recovery of vision.In the literature, only 2 papers were found in which hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) was used in ophthalmic artery obstruction. However, no improvement of vision was obtained in either patient. Recently, the authors treated a patient who had central retinal vein occlusion and cilioretinal artery occlusion with HBOT (daily 2-hour sessions at 253 kPa for 14 days), and his visual acuity returned to normal.In central retinal artery obstruction, if the cilioretinal artery is present, it will maintain the thickness of the retina to a variable extent. Though the size of the cilioretinal artery and the area it supplies varies, 36.2% (32.1-40.2%) of people have a cilioretinal artery.Thereafter, HBOT might be applied to patients with central retinal artery occlusion following filler injection.