Cosmetic injectables, adverse reactions & practitioners support - Elena Currie

In this insightful podcast, Elena Currie (Co-founder, Aesthetic MET) talks about cosmetic injectables, adverse reactions, and how medical practitioners can get support with managing complications.

In the podcast, Elena describes the current market for cosmetic procedures in Australia – particularly injectable procedures like dermal fillers and anti-wrinkle injections – and how this impacts practitioners and patients.

Elena discusses the possible adverse reactions and side effects of cosmetic injectables, including blindness and interaction with adjacent muscles, and the actual risk of these adverse events occurring. She also talks about complications like vascular occlusions and delayed inflammatory reactions, which affect around one per cent of patients.

There is often a false stigma attached to adverse events from cosmetic injectables that purports any complications are related to the experience level of the practitioner who performs the procedure. In fact, research has found that 65 per cent of practitioners with 11+ years experience has had one or more adverse events.

Elena breaks down the Four Ps of the real causes of adverse reactions: the practitioner, the patient, the placement, and the product. She says two of the main mistakes made by practitioners are failing to have a sound understanding of facial anatomy and injecting too fast.

In terms of the patient, cosmetic injectables stimulate an immune response that not all patients can tolerate, and not all patients will fit into a “textbook” case. It’s important to ensure that patients are receiving these treatments for the right reasons and don’t try to overdo it.

Elena then discusses some of the options available to practitioners in terms of finding the right training to perform cosmetic injectables as well as adequate support in managing complications. She explains the importance of finding a credible training provider that avoids pharmaceutical sponsorship where possible, delivered by experts who are practising and invested in the field.

In terms of managing complications, Elena co-founded Aesthetic MET to create a formalised, structured aesthetic safety support service. You can learn more about Aesthetic MET and much more in the full podcast below.