For Dr. Celeste Nome, a dental surgeon with a Master’s in Facial Aesthetic Medicine and a decade of experience in the field, the “boom” in aesthetic procedures brought a critical realization: as popularity grows, so does the risk of complications. She has integrated point-of-care ultrasound as a fundamental pillar of her practice to ensure her results are as safe as they are beautiful.

Watch this video with Dr. Nome to learn why she believes using ultrasound is important for her practice. Read on for highlights of our discussion.

Elevating the Standard of Safety

The primary driver for Dr. Nome’s transition to ultrasound was her commitment to avoiding complications “at all costs”. By using ultrasound, she can move beyond external clinical observation to see the real-time internal landscape of a patient’s face.

I believe that the use of ultrasound is very important to perform safe and effective aesthetic procedures, mainly because we can see what is happening under the skin in the moment,” Dr. Nome explains. “This inside look is vital for navigating the complex vascularization of the face.”

Dr. Nome emphasizes that knowing a patient’s specific anatomy and any potential variations gives her the “certainty of where we can and where we cannot work”. This is particularly crucial for preventing vascular complications—the risks “nobody wants to have”—and identifying delayed issues like nodules.

Precision in the Lower Third

While Dr. Nome is trained to treat the entire head and neck, her specialized focus on the lower third of the face relies heavily on ultrasound mapping. Before any injection, she uses the scanner to recognize the facial artery, vein, and irrigation to the lips.

I use the scanner… before injecting to be able to prevent hitting a vessel, having a vascular complication, and for a more natural result,” she says. “I use it mainly to be able to find the different anatomical planes and to identify some structures or fillers that my patient has from previous procedures.”

Building Patient Trust Through Education

Beyond the clinical benefits, ultrasound has transformed Dr. Nome’s consultations. In an industry where patients often judge results in a mirror, ultrasound offers an objective tool for communication. Showing patients their own anatomy in real-time builds a unique level of confidence. She uses the split screen functionality of the Clarius app to show patients what their tissue looks like under that skin looks like before and after a filler procedure.

Evidently, showing something more objective that doesn’t have to do with something I can modify like a photograph, makes them feel much greater confidence,” Dr. Nome notes. “They see me as much more professional and that way I also position myself differently in the market”.

Why Dr. Nome Chooses Clarius

Dr. Nome uses the Clarius L20 high-frequency ultrasound scanner for her aesthetic practices. She highlights several specific features that make Clarius essential for aesthetic medicine:

• Portability and Resolution: Dr. Nome maintains a hectic global schedule, working between Chile and Spain. She chose Clarius because it offers the “perfect match” of portability and high-resolution imaging.
• Enhanced Needle Visualization: She utilizes the Enhanced Needle feature to improve the visibility of the needle or cannula during the injection process. “I can see the needle or cannula much better when injecting.”
• Split Screen Functionality: This is one of her favorite tools, allowing her to show the before and after of a tissue plane or compare treated and untreated sides of the face to educate her patients.

Advice for New Users

Despite common concerns from new users about ultrasound adding time to procedures, Dr. Nome finds that with daily practice, she can identify a target structure in as little as 20 seconds.

The advice I would give to my colleagues who are starting with ultrasound in this aesthetic part would be to dare, to do it, to learn, to invest in knowledge. The more practice we have, the less hard it is for us to identify structure and the less time we use in doing a scanning.”

About Dr. Nome

Dr. Celeste Nome is a distinguished expert in facial aesthetic medicine with a passion for harmony and beauty. With extensive experience as a national and international speaker, she has dedicated her career to advancing knowledge in aesthetic medicine through education, research, and hands-on training. Her work spans multiple countries, contributing to the development of safe and effective aesthetic practices.

Improve Patient Safety with Ultra-high-definition Ultrasound for Facial Aesthetics

Clarius handheld ultrasound is the leading choice for aesthetics practitioners to clearly visualize facial and superficial anatomy in real-time to safely guide procedures like cosmetic fillers and confidently treat complications.

Schedule a personalized virtual demo to learn more about Clarius. We’ll show you how easy it is to integrate handheld ultrasound into your workflow.