How new guidance can enhance safety in your aesthetic practice

We’re all familiar with the abilities of ultrasound to identify a person’s internal bodily structures. While it’s most commonly used to monitor the growth and development of an unborn baby, ultrasound can also be used in other areas of medicine.

In recent years, aesthetic practitioners have started to experiment with ultrasound to guide their injections and help manage complications.

Benefits of ultrasound in aesthetics

Enhancing injection technique: applying ultrasound to the area you intend to inject can help identify underlying anatomy and avoid danger zones. It’s proving especially useful when injecting high-risk areas such as the nose and forehead.

Improving complication management: despite advanced experience, practitioners cannot always identify where filler has been misplaced and if it’s a cause for serious concern. Using ultrasound will help locate the source of a complication and allow practitioner to safely treat it.

Challenges of ultrasound in aesthetics

Despite its benefits, using ultrasound isn’t easy. There’s a skill involved in holding the device while injecting and, most importantly, you need to have the ability to interpret what you’re seeing on the screen for its use to be effective!

Training is absolutely essential if you’re planning to integrate ultrasound into your practice.

New guidance to improve ultrasound practice

As well as the challenges, there’s also been a serious lack of guidelines on how to use ultrasound safely and appropriately. Standards amongst practitioners vary and techniques have been open to interpretation.

That’s why consultant plastic and aesthetic surgeon Mr Dalvi Humzah decided to make a change. Working with the British Medical Ultrasound Society (BMUS), Mr Humzah, Dr Elizabeth Raymond-Brown and Telisha Jenkinson have authored Guidelines for Professional Diagnostic Ultrasound Practice in Medical Aesthetics.

Crucially, the guidance provides advice on: 

Ultrasound insurance advice

In terms of insurance, the BMUS guidance states: ‘All those using diagnostic ultrasound must ensure that their professional activities are covered by professional indemnity insurance or equivalent (ideally by holding both organisational and personal indemnity). Those who are self-employed should ensure they have adequate cover to protect both the public and themselves. The medical indemnity providers will be able to offer specific advice on appropriate professional medical cover’.

So, if you’re an early adopter of ultrasound or are thinking about introducing it to your practice, drop us a message to ensure you’ve got the essential insurance cover you need!