Vascular Safe Zones for Facial Soft Tissue Filler Injections

Abstract

The number of soft tissue filler injections performed by aesthetic injectors has continued to increase over the last few years. To provide a high standard of safety and achieve individualized, reproducible, and long-lasting outcomes, aesthetic injectors must have a solid foundation in anatomy, facial biomechanics, rheology, and injection biomechanics. Adverse events associated with soft tissue filler injections can be severe, especially if the aesthetic injector unintentionally injects the soft tissue filler into the patient's arterial vascular circulation and the administered product reaches the arterial bloodstream. Although the face has a rich arterial vascular supply that may seem overwhelmingly complex, it can be broken down systematically according to its internal and external vascular territories. To provide guidance for aesthetic practitioners performing minimally invasive facial injections for aesthetic purposes, this narrative article will discuss the course, depth, and branching pattern of the facial arteries based on the most frequently injected anatomical regions. In this article, we focus on vascular safe zones rather than danger zones.

2022 Plastic and Aesthetic Nursing Journal Award Winners

“…The winners of the third-place award (and a cash prize of $100) are Sebastian Cotofana, MD, PhD, Nicola Lowrey, PA, Konstantin Frank, MD, Rachel Ziebart, BSN, RN, Anne Guertler, MD, Lysander Freytag, MD, Sabrina Helm, Michael G. Alfertshofer, and Nicholas Moellhoff, MD, for their article, titled “Vascular Safe Zones for Facial Soft Tissue Filler Injections.” In this article, the authors describe the course, depth, and branching pattern of the facial arteries based on the most frequently injected anatomical regions. The focus on is on vascular safe zones rather than danger zones (Cotofana et al, 2022).…”

“…In this article, the authors describe the course, depth, and branching pattern of the facial arteries based on the most frequently injected anatomical regions. The focus on is on vascular safe zones rather than danger zones (Cotofana et al, 2022).…”

Consider Becoming a Peer Reviewer!

“…In the first NCPD article, the Fundamentals of Plastic and Aesthetic Nursing column, Van Wicklin (2022a) reviews the basics of skin cancers and how to recognize them. In the second NCPD article by Cotofana et al (2022), the authors discuss the importance of recognizing vascular safe zones when injecting facial soft tissue fillers.…”