Woman, 55, claims botched Botox injections left her temporarily blind

A woman has revealed images of her botched Botox surgery which left her unable to see out of one eye after she visited a local spa that doesn’t employ doctors. Entrepreneur Shari Budner, 55, from Georgia, suffered severe ptosis, sagging of her eye, on one side of her face following the routine Xeomin injections.

Following a mini stroke in 2014, Shari incredibly lost over 50 pounds. However, her large weight loss and the effects of the stroke left her with slight sagging in the face. Shari decided to get Botox to reduce this, having received Botox before from other clinics. On May 12, Shari visited a local spa in Canton, Georgia for a thread lift procedure. She then received an injection of Xeomin Botox at the recommendation of the Nurse Practitioner. Pictured: Shari before the procedure. 

Xeomin is a prescription treatment that is injected into the muscle along the glabellar lines, between the eyebrow and forehead lines, providing a temporary modification to frown lines. A single 15-minute treatment lasts between three and six months. Xeomin can cause serious and life-threatening side effects such as problems with swallowing, breathing and the spread of toxins throughout the body. This can cause blurred and double vision, drooping eyelids and muscle weakness. Shari suffered blurred vision and drooping of eyelids as well as hoarseness of her voice, a further side effect. Pictured: Shari before the procedure. 

She shared her experience on Facebook, warning others of the risk of Botox at local spas with no doctors present. Shari hopes her story will prevent others from undergoing the hardship she has suffered, using her story as a warning. ‘If you are considering any injections, specifically an eyebrow lift do your research before you go anywhere new,’ she said. ‘My quality of life is diminished to where I couldn’t work, and I was a nervous wreck driving as I have no peripheral vision in my left eye.’

Shari has never had any previous problems with Botox, so she went into the treatment worry-free but came out with an entire different outlook. She said: ‘This is not my first time getting injections but is the first at this location,’ she added: ‘I am beside myself with embarrassment and anger for not researching this specific area of treatment beforehand and reading the fine print… I had a procedure done along with a small amount of Botox near my eyebrows to lift my very hooded eyelids. Exactly one week later I noticed I was having trouble with my vision in my left eye.’

Shari notified the clinic, returning for a follow-up assessment to try and fix the damage. Following an examination, the clinician decided to inject more Botox into her temple in an attempt to force the muscle to work harder and lift the eyelid, injecting her a second time on May 23.

The clinic suggested the use of Botox to rectify the mistake made with Xeomin, lifting the brow. The laws regarding who can administer Botox vary from state to state, and while Georgia’s law outlines that the procedure must be performed by a licensed medical professional; there was no doctor present on-site at the time or involved in the procedure at any point. ‘After the assessment, she decided a small amount of Botox in the temple would relax the area and force the eyebrow muscles to work harder and start to lift the lid,’ said Shari.

The clinicians tried their best to repair the damage, however Shari feared it was much too late and knew she would have to seek treatment elsewhere. ‘She injected more above the brow to try and compensate and open the eye back up and was told it should begin to open back up in three to four days.’ She said: ‘I did receive a partial refund for being overcharged, however the amount of time I lost unable to work and the inability to drive pales in comparison.’

On May 28 (pictured), Shari visited a doctor and underwent an eye examination. The doctor gave her a prescription for a 30-day supply of Upneeq drops which was sent via mail. The drops initially helped to improve the drooping eye, however only lasted for six hours before wearing off. Her eyelid would become so heavy that in the afternoon she would have to use Steri-Strips which held up her left eye so she could see out of it.

The eye drops prescribed by her new doctor have tremendously helped Shari, however, Xeomin Botox takes three to six months to wear off, so while Shari’s recovery is slow, she is now on the road to recovery.