‘Ultrasound learning curve high but critical for the medical aesthetic field’

Experts agreed at a recent seminar that ultrasound is essential as a guide to improve the safety and accuracy of aesthetic procedures.

“Ultrasound is widely used to image many different body parts but is not well used to image facial and neck structures,” said Professor Kim Hee-jin of Yonsei University College of Dentistry. “Despite the high learning curve of this imaging modality compared to computer tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance images (MRI), it serves as an excellent third eye for us which is more precise and relatively cheap and efficient.”

Professor Kim made these and other points at the Hugel Expert Leader’s Forum (HELF) held to celebrate the company’s 11th founding anniversary on Sunday. 

The workshop conveyed the theme of “Toward Genuineness - Beyond Aspiration: Aesthetic Components of Generations in a Diversity Perspective.” 

Medical professionals and officials from several Asian countries attended the event, including China, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Korea.

Professor Kim stressed that the classical approaches are insufficient to keep up with updated surgical treatments, advocating for the increased use of ultrasound in medical practice.

“It is easy to detect variations of the muscle and vessels in real-time and is also the most reproducible, reliable, and safest diagnostic device but requires anatomy knowledge,” said Kim.

Kim demonstrated a face painting anatomically mapped using ultrasound to show the vasculature and corresponding glands, whether one side of the face is more dominant, and the specific communication of essential blood vessels and muscles. 

Noting that portable ultrasound devices can be used, Kim said it might be difficult to upgrade later, so investing in one with sufficient resolution might be better. 

One of the main techniques he stressed was using sufficient gel and applying minimal pressure to ensure all layers and contours of the skin can be seen. In particular, he noted the importance of leveraging anatomy knowledge to identify artifacts correctly.

“This shadowing phenomenon can be used to verify precise layers in real-time to see if the threading procedure was successful,” he said.

He demonstrated specific cases but highlighted the masseteric muscle can sometimes end up with sequelae from the build-up of toxins resulting in unwanted movements, so ultrasound is helpful in effectively delivering more precise injections and revealing exact areas where follow-up treatments are needed.

However, Kim recommended building up experience with ultrasound as a guide, starting with threading procedures and graduating to filler and then toxin injections.

Reflective listening and trends for 20-30s consumers

Professor Jonathan Sykes of the University of California, Davis Medical Center, highlighted different communication strategies to connect with the patient and ensure they are getting the intended procedure, which he referred to as an understated theme in clinical practice. 

“To prevent unhappy patients and lawsuits, communication using reflective listening should be adopted by physicians,” Sykes said.

However, the U.S. expert noted that physicians are often too preoccupied with entertaining biases from the company and themselves that they tend to ignore the patient’s needs.

The following session elucidated common botulinum toxin and HA filler treatment methods for those in the 20-30 age group.

Director Hwang Seung-guk of Sevendays Plastic Surgery referred to the recent AI-generated images that paint a picture of the features that 20-30-year-olds desire. 

“There is a trend for minimally invasive surgeries, skin firmness, skin glow, skin surface evenness, skin tone evenness, contoured noses, and higher nose bridges,” he explained based on a recent survey.

He also highlighted the value of in-depth knowledge of the aging process to deliver treatments to the right areas of the face in anticipation of generally observed trends.

For example, Hwang pinpointed the importance of mitigating the loss of collagen, elastic fibers, and glycosaminoglycans but said there is still no one size fits all approach.