Health
Cosmetic fillers can cause deadly complication, experts warn — but new tech exposes it
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Each year, more than 5 million cosmetic filler procedures are performed in the U.S. — but these injectables can potentially block key blood vessels, putting patients at risk for serious harm.
In a study presented this week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago, doctors found that ultrasound technology can spot these dangerous blockages early enough to guide treatment and help prevent lasting injury.
The researchers looked at data from 100 patients from six different locations who experienced vascular complications after hyaluronic acid filler injections. All data were collected between May 2022 and April 2025, according to a press release.
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They found that ultrasounds successfully detected vascular occlusion, which is a blockage in a blood vessel that stops normal blood flow.
If this condition goes untreated, it can cause pain, skin damage and scarring — and, in severe cases, vision loss or stroke.
Each year, more than 5 million cosmetic filler procedures are performed in the U.S. — but these injectables can potentially block key blood vessels. (iStock)
“Doppler ultrasound helps doctors see exactly where the filler is, how the blood is flowing in real time, and whether blood vessels may have been affected after a cosmetic procedure,” lead researcher Rosa Maria Silveira Sigrist, M.D., attending radiologist at the University of São Paulo in Brazil, told Fox News Digital.
“The physical exam continues to be very important, but the ultrasound adds extra information that makes the evaluation safer and the treatment more precise.”
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In the study, more than 40% of patients had blockages in the perforator vessels, which are small connecting blood vessels, while 35% had major facial arteries that showed no blood flow.
The nasal region was identified as the highest-risk area, as the lateral nasal artery runs along the side of the nose and supplies blood to larger arteries that lead toward the eye and the brain.
Doctors found that ultrasound technology can spot dangerous blockages early enough to guide treatment and help prevent lasting injury. (iStock)
“Vascular occlusion after filler injections can lead to devastating outcomes, including skin necrosis, tissue loss, and — in the worst cases — blindness and even stroke,” Dr. Anthony Berlet, a board-certified plastic surgeon in New Jersey, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital.
“Once a critical artery — for example, one feeding the retina or skin — is occluded by filler or embolus, the damage may be irreversible.”
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In the hands of an experienced, licensed professional using proper techniques, the risk of a vascular occlusion should be less than 1%, according to Dr. Samuel Golpanian, a double board-certified plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills.
“But if fillers are done by someone untrained or using the wrong needles or methods, the complication rate can be much higher — 10% to 20%, which is completely unacceptable,” Golpanian, who also did not work on the study, told Fox News Digital.
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Ultrasound helped doctors pinpoint the locations of the blockages, allowing them to place a dissolving enzyme (hyaluronidase) right where it was needed and avoid using large, guesswork doses.
The researchers suggested that using ultrasound during the injection itself could help to prevent blood-vessel injuries and enable faster, more precise treatment if blockages occur.
In the hands of an experienced, licensed professional using proper techniques, the risk of a vascular occlusion should be less than 1%, one plastic surgeon stated. (iStock)
“Ideally, ultrasound should be integrated into care in a way that supports timely decision-making — either as an immediate point-of-care tool in trained hands, or to confirm and optimize management once initial rescue therapy has begun,” Dr. Asif Pirani, a board-certified cosmetic plastic surgeon in Toronto, Canada, told Fox News Digital.
To minimize dangerous complications, Pirani — another outside expert not involved in the study — emphasized that injectable treatments should be performed by board-certified specialists with formal training in facial anatomy and complication protocols.
Study limitations
Some limitations of the study were noted, including its relatively small sample size (100 adults) and the fact that it has not yet been peer-reviewed.
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“Another limitation we noticed is that the Doppler exam is performed differently even among very experienced specialists,” the lead researcher told Fox News Digital. “This shows how important it is to create clear, standardized guidelines, so the exam can be done in a more consistent way.”
“Once a critical artery is occluded by filler or embolus, the damage may be irreversible.”
Also, all study participants experienced significant complications, which means the findings may not apply to those with milder cases or different filler types.
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There could also be some degree of geographic bias, as the research was conducted in Brazil, where training standards may differ from the U.S.
Future studies are needed to follow more patients over longer time periods and track their recovery after ultrasound-guided treatment, the study noted.
Ants can be a nuisance. Just ask officials at a hospital in Canada who are dealing with an “appearance of ants within the operating room” that has forced them to indefinitely suspend some surgeries there.
The ants appeared recently at Carman Memorial Hospital in Carman Manitoba, according to a statement from Southern Health-Santé Sud, the provincial authority that oversees the hospital.
It was not clear when the hospital would resume operations, but Southern Health said on Friday that a “limited number of elective surgeries” had been postponed and that the hospital was working with patients to reschedule them. Portage Online, a local news website, reported that 16 operations had been postponed, citing information from Southern Health.
It’s not the first time ants have disrupted operations at the hospital. The insects appeared there in August 2024, but “the issue resolved within a few weeks,” Southern Health said. They returned last summer. But with their reappearance this week, the hospital said it was taking more drastic measures. The hospital serves the area around Carman, a town with a population of around 3,000 residents about 47 miles southwest of Winnipeg.
“Any factor that could impact the safety or integrity of the operating room environment requires the suspension of surgical activity until the issue can be resolved,” Southern Health said. “The safety of patients, staff and physicians is paramount.”
The hospital is working with exterminators “to identify the source of the ants and implement additional measures and support a long-term resolution.” Southern Health told Portage Online that exterminators had “surveyed and cleaned drains, opened walls and sealed cracks.”
“Several methods have been used to bait the ants in an effort to find where they are originating from,” the authority said.
In a separate statement to the CBC, Southern Health said that it believed that an ant colony had made its home near the hospital and that they appeared to be “simply seeking food sources inside buildings as ants are known to do.”
The hospital also told the CBC that the ant problem at the hospital did not amount to an “infestation.”
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The U.S. government is moving to evacuate American passengers from a cruise ship linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak, with plans to transport them to a military base in Nebraska for quarantine and monitoring, federal health officials said Friday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the risk to the American public remains extremely low as officials move forward with a medical repatriation flight for passengers aboard the M/V Hondius.
President Donald Trump said earlier Friday that the situation appears to be under control, pointing to the virus being difficult to transmit.
“We have very good people looking at it. It seems to be okay. They know the virus very well. They’ve worked with it for a long time. They know it very well. Not easy to pass on. So we hope that’s true,” he said.
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Health workers in protective gear evacuate patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, on May 6, 2026. (Misper Apawu/AP)
“We seem to have things under very good control. They know that virus very well. It’s been around a long time. Not easily transferable, unlike COVID. But we’ll see. We have very good people studying it very closely.”
The outbreak has escalated over several weeks, beginning with a passenger who became sick in early April and later resulting in at least three deaths, according to the World Health Organization.
Cases are now reported across multiple countries after passengers disembarked in Africa and Europe, prompting health officials to trace contacts globally.
Authorities in Cape Verde at one point blocked passengers from leaving the ship, underscoring concerns about containment.
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An ambulance evacuates patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship to the airport in Praia, Cape Verde, on May 6, 2026. (Misper Apawu/AP)
Hantavirus is a rare but potentially deadly disease typically spread through contact with infected rodents or their droppings, according to the CDC. While most strains do not spread between people, health officials say the Andes virus — identified in some cases linked to the cruise ship — is the only known strain capable of limited person-to-person transmission.
The vessel is expected to dock in Spain’s Canary Islands, where international teams are coordinating next steps for passengers and crew.
A CDC team has been deployed to the Canary Islands to assess potential exposure among American passengers and determine monitoring needs.
Returning passengers are expected to be flown on a U.S. government medical repatriation flight to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska.
Health workers in protective gear evacuate patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship into an ambulance at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, on May 6, 2026. (Misper Apawu/AP)
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They will then be transported to the National Quarantine Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center for further monitoring.
Additional CDC personnel will be stationed at Offutt Air Force Base to support health assessments.
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From tracking sleep and steps to monitoring heart rate, temperature and stress levels, wearable devices like smartwatches and rings are growing in popularity as wellness tools.
Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade recently used one of these — an Oura ring — to track his metrics from the early morning hours through a demanding work schedule and reported the results live on “Fox & Friends.”
“I just got four hours and one minute [of sleep], but I have some REM sleep, 14%, over 20% of deep sleep. Feeling pretty good, I feel pretty fresh,” Kilmeade shared during his first early morning update, reviewing the stats from his ring.
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Throughout the day, the wearable tracked his physiological responses to various environments, from the stress of a live television broadcast to the physical exertion of a workout.
Wearable devices are changing cardiology’s landscape, helping detect conditions like atrial fibrillation early, a cardiologist said. (iStock)
Kilmeade observed the data in real time, noting, “You see the stress level spike just a little bit … as I make my way over to radio, my activity is going to pick up.”
By the end of his day, which included a trip to West Point and hours spent in a car, the device provided a summary of Kilmeade’s activity levels and heart rate stability.
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Dr. Craig Basman, a New Jersey cardiologist, joined the program to interpret the data and discuss the clinical implications of such technology.
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Basman immediately addressed Kilmeade’s limited rest. “Well, I don’t think you have to be a cardiologist to diagnose him with suboptimal sleep,” he said.
The cardiologist urged users to treat the data as a catalyst for lifestyle changes. (iStock)
However, the doctor highlighted the broader potential of these tools, explaining that “these wearable devices are changing the landscape of cardiology” and that “the future is bright, not just for preventative care … but also screening and detection of actual cardiovascular pathology.”
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The cardiologist urged users to treat the data as a catalyst for lifestyle changes, noting that he wouldn’t recommend detection tools unless you’re “going to do something about it.”
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Regarding the accuracy of the technology, Basman said there is “robust data” to suggest that the numbers are “incredibly accurate” for a lot of the metrics people are viewing, specifically data like resting heart rate and heart rate variability.
Wearable health tech like watches and rings can track sleep, heart rate and stress. (iStock)
He also mentioned that some devices can detect serious conditions like atrial fibrillation, which affects millions and can often go undetected during a standard physical exam.
For younger individuals, wearables can serve as a “great primary prevention tool,” according to the doctor, given that plaque can begin to develop in the arteries as early as the 20s and 30s.
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For the older population, the devices act more as a “screening tool for actual existing cardiac pathology,” he added.
Anyone concerned about wearable health data should consult a doctor for medical guidance.
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