The Use of Vein Finders in Aesthetic Medicine

Nasolabial Folds Injection

Nasolabial folds are a normal part of the human anatomy, not a medical condition or a sign of aging. However, some people undergo cosmetic procedures in order to reduce the appearance of nasolabial folds or eliminate them.

These procedures include the use of dermal fillers, which are implants placed right under the skin either in the nasolabial fold area to plump it up and reduce the appearance of wrinkles, or in the upper cheek area to give the cheeks a lift, making the nasolabial folds less noticeable.

Dermal filler injections can be very challenging for doctors since it is used in a facial artery territory. With so many variations in facial artery anatomy, it can be very hard to know where the artery or its branches are located, using only the naked eye.

If dermal fillers are injected into the artery or its branches, it can potentially obstruct the oxygenated blood supply to the skin or even travel further up to the blood supply of the retina of the eye, causing blindness in extreme cases.

This is why nasolabial folds are one of the most dangerous areas of the face to treat with dermal fillers and a near-infrared technology (i.e. Vein finders) is needed to map out ‘invisible’ veins and arteries, hence improve the safety of aesthetic dermal filler injections.

For instance, the SIFVEINSET-1.1 can be perfect for this procedure. It helps to visualize the locations of facial veins, especially that it has a stand that supports the vein viewer to be fixed over the patient’s face. This way, the surgeon’s hands can be totally free, while having a very clear map for up to 4 continuous hours.

This clinical application is performed by plastic surgeons.