Facial ultrasound seems to be the latest thing in facial aesthetics. Every time I read new journal articles, it seems to be about ultrasound-guided treatments or investigations. I had seen a few articles about ultrasound in the past but had not really considered its use in clinic. After dealing with a vascular complication, I became convinced that ultrasound-guided treatments and vascular mapping would make a big difference to my patients’ downtime, and provide an added layer of safety when performing injectable treatments.1 Here, I share my journey of discovery into the use of ultrasound in my clinic.

Why I decided to use MX7 ultrasound

I initially became interested in facial ultrasound after dealing with a tricky vascular occlusion. Anyone who has dealt with occlusion is aware that resolution is not instant and often requires repeat injections and daily reviews of the patient. I successfully reversed the occlusion and the patient healed uneventfully, but I was convinced the treatment could have been faster and less painful for the patient. If I had been able to doppler and identify the affected vessel by detecting the area of abnormal blood flow using the ultrasound doppler mode, I could then have injected hyaluronidase into the affected vessel under direct visualization. This would have likely made the resolution and recovery time much quicker. So, I began researching affordable ultrasounds that could be used in a facial aesthetic clinic setting.