A woman has told how her face changed colour and burst into blisters after filler injections went horribly wrong and almost destroyed her top lip.
Chandra Morton, 26, from Johnson City, Tennessee, claims she is lucky to still have her top lip after filler was accidentally injected into an artery in her face.
The US waitress says her face changed colour and white blisters began to appear due to vascular occlusion - which happens when circulation of oxygen is blocked from the area.
She claims she has lost a small chunk of her top lip but says she is grateful the doctor eventually manage to fix the issue before she lost more of her lip to necrosis.
Chandra added: "I wanted to get lip fillers because I had always felt insecure about my top lip.
"So many people have had their lips done and I thought it would be fine. I was looking forward to having fuller lips.
"However as soon as I had the procedure done, my lips felt so numb and started turning white.
"Eventually the colour of my face changed and more and more white blisters kept appearing.
"I was absolutely terrified and I was in so much pain. I was told that if I waited a day longer I would have lost my entire top lip to necrosis.
"I lost a small part of my top lip and I have some scarring around my mouth, but eventually the doctor managed to reverse the damage using hyaluronic acid.
"I just want to raise awareness of the risks that come with these procedures."
In March 2021, Chandra saved up for a month to have the £557 procedure done.
She claims she had 0.5ml injected into her top lip and couldn't wait to see the results.
Chandra, who has decided not to name the doctor, said: "Although I am scared of needles, I was so excited to have it done.
"The procedure was super quick and over within 15 minutes but it was so painful I almost passed out.
"On the way home my lips were still so numb and I noticed them going white. I wasn't sure if this was normal but I tried not to think too much of it.
"Later on my face became so painful and stung. I kept checking the mirror and more white spots were appearing.
"I was panicking so I emailed them during the evening but as it was a Saturday I didn't hear back. I cried the whole way through the night.
"The next morning my face was even whiter and I was freaking out. It kept getting worse.
"On Monday I eventually managed to have a call with the doctor and he video called me to see how my face looked.
"As soon as he saw me he started freaking out and said that in 12 years of doing filler, he had never seen anything like this."
Chandra claims the phone call worried her as the doctor revealed she would probably need to have it dissolved.
She says that she called other clinics for a second opinion, and after emailing over pictures she was told to get seen immediately.
Chandra added: "A doctor from a different clinic told me that I had vascular occlusion and that I could have necrosis setting in.
"I went back to the doctor who done my filler and he injected four shots of hyaluronic acid to try and fix the issue.
"It was so painful and I was screaming while it was happening.
"I went back home thinking that it seemed better but more blisters were appearing and my face was still going whiter.
"The next day I had to go back again for nine more shots of hyaluronic acid in my face.
"My whole face was so swollen and I hadn't eaten for almost a week because of the amount of pain my mouth had been in.
"The doctor had finally corrected his mistakes and after also going to trauma care, I was told I luckily didn't need to use a hyperbaric tank and I was given some numbing cream and medication to help with scarring.
"A little chunk of my lip did fall off and I still have some scarring around my lips but it is a reminder to never put anything in my face again.
"The doctor kept in touch with me for two months to make sure everything was okay. He took care of me afterwards and tried to make things right.
"I'm not trying to scare people, I just want to raise awareness of the risks that come with getting filler injected into your face.
"I will never do anything like this again."
The doctor - who has not been named on the request of Chandra - has been contacted for a right of reply.
