Facial ultrasound – check what's under your skin!

Facial ultrasound (USG) has been a standard in the daily work of Dr. Parda's clinic for several years. Using this tool increases the safety and efficiency of procedures. Moreover, with the help of ultrasonography, we are able to treat post-procedural complications efficiently and optimally. We also share our experience with using this method at courses and conferences. What role does facial USG play in aesthetic medicine?

USG and Aesthetic Medicine

USG is a non-invasive and simple examination that almost everyone has undergone. This imaging method has been used in general medicine for many years. Recently, it has also been increasingly utilized by aesthetic medicine doctors. This is related to the greater availability of high-frequency ultrasound devices that allow for imaging the skin, subcutaneous tissue, and other soft tissue structures of the face. Today's devices also feature convenient probes with built-in Doppler, facilitating the imaging of blood vessels. Facial USG provides specialists, who previously relied on experience and intuition, with a "third eye".

Unveiling the Secrets of Facial Skin

Thanks to USG examination, professionals can see exactly what lies beneath a patient's facial skin. This is particularly important as the real picture often differs from what doctors learn from anatomy textbooks. The information obtained through USG helps in performing procedures precisely and minimizing the risk of unwanted events. Ultrasonography is also a valuable tool in treating complications, including vascular ones.

Safer Aesthetic Medicine with Facial USG

At Dr. Parda's clinic, where patient safety is our top priority, we cannot imagine our daily work without USG. Every procedure involving a needle or cannula is preceded by this examination. As a result, we accurately understand the location of anatomical structures and the vascularization of the face in a given patient. Performing USG also allows us to see where previously administered fillers or threads are located. This is crucial as individuals coming to us from other clinics sometimes forget which procedures they have undergone or do not wish to disclose them.

Thanks to the use of ultrasonographic imaging, we precisely plan procedures and reduce the risk of complications. Vascular complications that could occur if a procedure is incorrectly performed include nodules, necrosis, or blindness.

Enhanced Facial Skin Appearance with USG

At Dr. Parda's clinic, we also use USG to achieve optimal treatment outcomes. The tool is applied, for example, during the implantation of lifting threads. Additionally, we sometimes precede the modeling procedure (e.g., lips) with the removal of previous hyaluronic acid deposits using hyaluronidase. This ensures that the final effect is more harmonious and aligns with the trend of a natural look that we advocate.

It's worth noting that we never administer hyaluronidase and hyaluronic acid in the same session. Since these procedures counteract each other, it is necessary to maintain at least a week's interval between them.

Treating Complications Under USG Control

Besides increasing the safety and efficiency of treatments, facial USG is an invaluable tool for treating complications, e.g., related to the administration of hyaluronic acid. Patients from other clinics increasingly come to us with such problems. These visits always begin with ultrasonographic diagnostics. Thanks to this, we can quickly locate the filler deposit, along with any accompanying vascular tissue disorder.

We then precisely administer medical hyaluronidase to the patient, allowing for the removal of the unwanted deposit. Thanks to USG, we know exactly where to inject the material and how the hyaluronic acid reacts to it. Therefore, we can administer the minimum effective number of hyaluronidase units, usually 75 U, to restore proper blood circulation and relieve the patient from pain, stress, and the threat of tissue necrosis. In comparison, several thousand units of the preparation are usually administered in "blind" procedures.

It's important to mention that by injecting hyaluronidase in the optimal amount, we also protect the patient from side effects, as this substance affects both the hyaluronic acid from aesthetic medicine products and the naturally occurring hyaluronic acid in the skin.

Facial USG Courses in Aesthetic Medicine

The use of USG in aesthetic medicine is a standard in Western countries. In Poland, it is just becoming widespread. We have several years of experience in its application and are eager to share it with doctors. We use social media, industry conferences, and our own events for this purpose. We regularly organize facial USG courses, where we reveal to professionals the secrets of using ultrasonography as a preventive and therapeutic tool. Our courses are available at both basic and advanced levels.

Events featuring world-class experts in facial USG as speakers are highly popular and receive positive feedback. We also offer individual training sessions, where we can devote 100% of our time to the participant.

What is the curriculum of the facial USG course?

At our facial USG courses in aesthetic medicine, we teach how to:

• correctly interpret skin structures in USG images,
• differentiate previous deposits,
• prevent adverse events,
• manage complications,
• precisely place deposits in a specific location.

Doctors interested in conferences and USG courses in aesthetic medicine are invited to contact us. More information can be found on this page and our social media.

10.07.2023

Author: Dr Barbara Parda-Głomska

Dr. Barbara Parda-Głomska is a graduate of the Postgraduate School of Aesthetic Medicine at PTL and a member of the Polish Society of Aesthetic Medicine (UIME).