*This article is brought to you by AAMSSA: the Aesthetic and Anti-aging Medicine Society of South Africa.
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The Aesthetic and Anti-Aging Medicine Society of South Africa (AAMSSA) announced a strategic partnership with the Complications in Medical Aesthetics Collaborative (CMAC) last year. Spearheaded by AAMSSA‘s president, Dr Alastair Clark, this initiative promises significant advantages for the local aesthetic medicine industry, providing vital support to practitioners and ensuring safe, competent treatment for patients.
Establishing a national standard for complication management
CMAC, a non-profit entity, supports healthcare professionals globally in the identification and management of complications associated with medical aesthetic procedures. It represents South Africa’s first national, evidence-based system for handling such complications. Evidence-based medicine, which CMAC promotes, relies on the latest research and scientific findings to guide clinical practices.
Understanding aesthetic medicine and its risks
Aesthetic medicine involves non-surgical treatments that are generally non-invasive or minimally invasive. Although these treatments carry lower risks than cosmetic surgeries, they can still lead to complications, which are increasing in frequency as more individuals opt for aesthetic procedures.
Most complications – such as swelling, redness, tenderness, numbness, bruising, sensitivity, irritation, and rashes – are temporary and can be reversed. Occasionally, filler material can migrate from the injection site to adjacent areas, leading to less pleasant effects.
More serious complications include lumps and bumps, nodules, and granulomas. These can be treated with additional injections or, in rare cases, may require surgical removal. There is a risk of infection and abscess formation, bleeding, and haematomas. With heat-based treatments like lasers, there is a risk of burns. With any treatment in medicine, there is a risk of allergy, including anaphylactic shock, and death.
Vascular occlusion is one of the most feared complications. If a dermal filler penetrates or compresses a blood vessel, this can cut off the blood supply to the surrounding tissues. Untreated, this leads to cell death and loss of tissue. If a filler penetrates the blood vessels feeding the eye, there is a potential risk of blindness. This is an extremely rare complication.
It is crucial that anybody undergoing aesthetic treatments is aware of the risk of potentially serious complications. It is the ethical duty of your aesthetic doctor to explain these risks to you, and for you to provide written informed consent before undergoing a procedure.
Multidisciplinary expertise on the CMAC Specialist Advisory Board
The CMAC Specialist Advisory Board includes a multidisciplinary team of experts including ophthalmologists, plastic, maxillofacial and oculoplastic surgeons, tissue viability and burn specialists, radiologists and ultrasound experts, dermatologists, microbiologists, and infectious disease specialists. Dr Alastair Clark and Dr Debbie Norval represent South Africa on the CMAC International Expert Board.
Member benefits and professional standards
CMAC aims to assist South African aesthetic practitioners with managing complications. Every doctor registered as a member of AAMSSA automatically has access to the CMAC platform. This includes access to expert guidance in the relevant field, up-to-date management guidelines, treatment algorithms, and an emergency helpline for peer support and advice during a complication. Other benefits include a members’ private Facebook page for interacting with peers, access to clinical publications, and a yearly conference.
Ensuring competence and managing patient expectations
Qualified and experienced aesthetic doctors aim to minimise risks by applying their in-depth knowledge of pharmacology, biochemistry, and the anatomical danger zones of the face and body. They also take comprehensive medical histories to identify factors that might predispose patients to complications such as autoimmune disease. Managing patient expectations and being alert to psychological red flags, such as body dysmorphic disorder, are essential aspects of practice.
The importance of peer support in managing complications
When facing a serious complication, most doctors appreciate the wisdom of communicating with colleagues and experts in the field. This is not the time to be proud or defensive. It is a time to reach out for support, even if it is simply to confirm that the management is up-to-date and correct.
This is where CMAC comes to the rescue! It is invaluable to have a team of experts in complication management to support a doctor. Knowing that your doctor is guided by the latest scientific evidence is highly reassuring.
Fortunately, almost all complications, no matter how serious, are treatable and fully reversible if diagnosed early and managed correctly. This is why it’s so important for standards to remain high in the aesthetics industry, and why only medical doctors are allowed to practice aesthetic medicine in South Africa.
Commitment to high standards and patient safety
Doctors who are members of AAMSSA and CMAC are part of an innovative professional collaborative, a group of highly qualified experts with a particular focus on raising the standard of clinical practice in the prevention and management of complications. As a society, AAMSSA fosters a spirit of professional collaboration, always striving to develop and improve clinical practice and treatment outcomes – all for the safety of our patients.
Is your aesthetic doctor a member of AAMSSA? Check the list of members at AAMSSA’s website. For more details about CMAC, visit www.cmac.world
MBBCh . General practitioner with special interest (GPSI) in Aesthetic Medicine.
Dr Alastair Clark is a full-time Medical Aesthetic Practice at his clinic Sandton Aesthetic Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa. He designs and delivers courses in the disciplines of filler volumisation, neuromuscular modulation with botulinum neurotoxin, non-surgical thread lifts, IPL and laser, chemical peels, as well as physical treatments of the skin. Dr Clark has presented and given live demonstrations at numerous international congresses in Europe, Asia and South Africa, including IMCAS Paris and China, World Congress Aesth Med in Monaco, AMCSA and Tehran, Iran.
He has had a career-long commitment to education and training Aesthetic Medicine to develop a competent and safe faculty in South Africa. He is the current president of the Anti-Ageing and Aesthetic Medicine Society of Southern Africa (AAMSSA).
- Dr Alastair Clarkhttps://www.aestheticappointment.co.za/author/dr-alastair-clark
- Dr Alastair Clarkhttps://www.aestheticappointment.co.za/author/dr-alastair-clark
- Dr Alastair Clarkhttps://www.aestheticappointment.co.za/author/dr-alastair-clark
- Dr Alastair Clarkhttps://www.aestheticappointment.co.za/author/dr-alastair-clark
MBBCh (Rand) Dip Pall Med (cUK) M Phil Pall Med (UCT) Adv Dip Aesthetic Med (FPD)
Dr Debbie Norval graduated as a medical doctor from the University of the Witwatersrand, in 1991. Post graduate training includes a Diploma in Palliative Medicine through the University of Wales, Masters of Philosophy from the University of Cape Town, an Advanced Diploma in Aesthetic Medicine through the Foundation for Professional Development and a City and Guilds Diploma in Adult Teaching and Training.
Dr Norval is the convenor of the Johannesburg Aesthetic Doctors Journal Club and sits on the scientific committee of the Aesthetic Medicine Congress of South Africa (AMCSA). She is the Past President of the Aesthetic and Anti-Aging Medicine Society of South Africa (AAMSSA) and serves on the International Advisory Board of CMAC (Complications in Medical Aesthetics Collaborative).
“Dr Debbie Norval Aesthetics” is a busy clinical practice in Parktown North, Johannesburg.
Please note Dr Debbie is not taking on new patients at this time.
- Dr Debbie Norvalhttps://www.aestheticappointment.co.za/author/dr-debbie-norval
- Dr Debbie Norvalhttps://www.aestheticappointment.co.za/author/dr-debbie-norval
- Dr Debbie Norvalhttps://www.aestheticappointment.co.za/author/dr-debbie-norval
- Dr Debbie Norvalhttps://www.aestheticappointment.co.za/author/dr-debbie-norval
