What are the signs and symptoms of a vascular occlusion?

Author: Joanne Shields  |  Last update: Tuesday, August 26, 2025

What are the symptoms of vascular occlusion?
  • Pain or discomfort at the site of the blockage.
  • Swelling.
  • Changes to your skin color; red (erythema) to blueish-purple or white spots (blanching).
  • Cool temperature to the affected area of your skin.

What are the first signs of vascular occlusion?

Early signs of vascular occlusion include pain, pale skin or white blanching after filler and prolonged capillary refill. These symptoms are commonly seen within minutes to an hour of an occlusion occurring. Later signs of an occlusion are perishingly cold skin and purple mottling or livedo reticularis.

What are the 5 P's of vascular occlusion?

The P's refer to pain, pallor, pulse, paresthesia, and paralysis. Pain is commonly rated on a 10-point scale and can be disproportionately severe in the case of compartment syndrome. Pallor refers to the appearance of the skin and whether it appears as though blood is appropriately reaching the affected body part.

What is the first stage of vascular occlusion?

The Immediate Signs Of A Vascular Occlusion

Usually the very first indication is blanching, with the size of the blanched area varying greatly.

What do vascular occlusion lips look like?

There will be a grey patch on the lip that sometimes has zero capillary refill. This is the most obvious type of VO and not easily missed in lips; however, they can be less obvious and more easily missed in other parts of the face, or in patients with darker skin types.

5 Early Warning Signs of a Vascular Occlusion

How quickly does vascular occlusion happen after lip filler?

If you have a vascular occlusion after a dermal filler, you could experience symptoms 12 to 24 hours after your filler procedure. Vascular occlusion is a serious condition that needs medical treatment immediately.

How do you know if you have necrosis in lips?

Signs of Necrosis After a Lip Filler

The skin on your lips will start to look very pale and dusty and will eventually start to turn purple.

How do you check for capillary refill on lips?

In relation to the lip filler procedure the Capillary refill test (CRT) is carried out by holding and applying pressure to the lip, often by pinching. When you pinch the area it while whiten, which is called blanching. The pressure should be maintained for 5-10 seconds.

What are the red flags after lip fillers?

If you notice severe pain, extreme swelling or a blue appearance in your lips or surrounding skin, call your doctor as soon as possible. Cold sores. If you are prone to getting cold sores, lip fillers can bring on an outbreak.

What are the first signs of impending necrosis?

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF NECROSIS
  • Pain. 2,3,5,6,7 Severe pain is usually experienced by the patient when necrosis ensues. ...
  • Prolonged blanching. 2,3,5,7 When the vasculature is affected, the area will often initially look very pale, white, or dusky due to the reduction in blood supply. ...
  • Dusky, purple discoloration. ...
  • Coolness.

How do you fix vascular occlusion?

In some cases, it might be possible to resolve the occlusion with conservative measures, such as massage, tapping, and/or heat applied to the area. However, if conservative methods fail, hyaluronidase should be administered without delay when a hyaluronic acid dermal filler has been used.

What is an early symptom of arterial occlusive disease?

Pain: Severe pain is a common symptom and usually the first. Pallor: Your skin looks very pale. Pulse deficit: Your pulse is weak or missing.

How to do Buerger's test?

Buerger's Test: Raise each leg to 45 from horizontal and support at this angle for 2 minutes then hang the leg over the edge of the bed to allow blood to return to the limb. Pallor on elevation with subsequent dusky redness on dependency (reactive hyperaemia) is defined as a positive result and indicate ischaemia.

How do you test for vascular blockage?

An angiogram is a diagnostic procedure that uses X-ray images to look for blockages or narrow spots in your blood vessels (arteries or veins). An angiogram test can show how blood circulates in blood vessels at specific locations in your body.

What does vascular disease feel like?

Symptoms depend on which body part is deprived of sufficient blood, but may include: Intermittent pain (claudication), which may feel like cramps, muscle fatigue or heaviness (usually in the legs) Worsening pain during exercise (usually in the legs) Easing of pain during rest (usually in the legs)

What does an occluded vein feel like?

Upper extremity venous occlusion usually presents in the sudden onset of swelling, discomfort, aching or heaviness of the arm. Sometimes, the arm may take on a bluish discoloration.

How do I know if I have vascular occlusion?

Signs of vascular occlusion

Temporary blanching is non-threatening and will resolve on its own. Bruising may occur if an artery or blood vessel has become blocked due to filler injection. Bruising may range from a blue discoloration to a dusky purple-grey appearance.

What are the tell tale signs of lip fillers?

Downturned mouth corners from the weight of the fillers. Decreased mobility and expressiveness in the lips. Visible bright highlight lines when the lips are stretched from fillers. Firmer, less soft feel when lips are gently pressed.

How do you know if your body is rejecting lip fillers?

5 Signs That You Had a Bad Filler Job
  • Persistent Puffiness. There are several signs that the body can give when a facial injection of filler has gone wrong. ...
  • Asymmetry/Asymmetric Fullness. Asymmetrical fullness can occur after the injection is performed. ...
  • Allergic Reaction. ...
  • Infection. ...
  • Unnatural Appearance.

What are the signs of poor capillary refill?

They may experience:
  • Altered mental state, which may include confusion or unusual behavior.
  • Cold hands, arms, legs or feet.
  • Dangerously low or high vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, breathing rate and temperature).
  • Loss of consciousness.

How to tell the difference between normal bruising and vascular occlusion lip filler?

The immediate signs of an occlusion include intense pain in the area, dusky skin, bruising and skin blanching. Bruising is cause by blood leaking into the skin, dusky skin caused by an occlusion will not blanch.

How do you fix blood vessels on your lips?

Laser Treatment: Lasers are now the most common and effective treatments, with minimal scarring or side effects. The pulsed dye laser has been the most commonly used. Sclerotherapy: This option involves injecting a sclerosing agent like 1% polidocanol. Like lasers, this can be both effective and efficient.

What does the start of necrosis feel like?

There may be no symptoms of osteonecrosis at first, but as the disease progresses, you may gradually start to feel pain, especially in weight-bearing bones such as the thigh bone (femur). The disease most commonly affects the hip joint, and the pain is usually felt in the groin or, less commonly, in the buttock area.

What is Tyndall effect filler?

What is the Tyndall effect? The Tyndall effect is a rare phenomenon in which a patient's skin takes on a bluish tone after he or she receives dermal fillers. This discoloration is most often visible in the skin below the eyes due to the area's thin skin.

Which are the signs of ischemia after filler injection?

These signs include pain, a purple or violaceous hue in a vascular distribution on one side of the face or any whitening of an area.

Previous article
What ethnicity has copper skin?
Next article
How do I know the right hairstyle for my face?