On March 30-April 1, the annual AMWC meeting was held in Monaco, inviting more than 15,000 delegates from 140 countries globally. The highly anticipated meeting welcomed more than 300 international speakers to 75 scientific sessions and 67 sponsored symposiums, for delegates to learn about the latest evidence-based research and cutting-edge innovations emerging in the aesthetics specialty.
360 approach with Allergan Aesthetics
The Allergan Medical Institute (AMI) Symposia offered two days of jam-packed content with top international speakers taking to the stage to introduce the Allergan Aesthetics 360 approach to practice, products and patients.
The first day began with Dr Tapan Patel discussing the patient-centric approach. During his talk, Dr Patel showcased some interesting statistics from his own clinic which highlighted a change in patient age demographic in the last nine years. In 2014, patients seeking aesthetic treatments were between 55-64 years, but this has changed to 25-34 years. He noted that it was important for practitioners to both recognise the trend and react to it. Following this, Dr Shannon Humphrey spoke on patient care, noting that many patients don’t feel listened to during a consultation. She added that practitioners should be active listeners, create a comfortable environment, ask open-ended questions and explain treatments clearly.
The session continued with a live demonstration by Dr Sylwia Lipko-Godlewska on a 39-year-old Persian female patient, and concluded with a panel discussion including Dr Reha Yavuzer and Dr Marcel Vinicius Menezes on what 360 means to them.
Day two focused on unlocking your patient’s individuality and welcomed Dr Mauricio de Maio to the stage. Dr de Maio looked at treating patients across generations and how his famous MD Codes could be used on patients without results appearing the same.
The session concluded with a detailed live demonstration performed by Dr de Maio on a female patient, addressing multiple facial areas including the temple, chin, tear trough and lips, followed by a rapturous standing ovation.
Djamshid Ghavami, general manager at Allergan Aesthetics UK&I, said, “At Allergan Aesthetics, our purpose is to ‘empower confidence’, creating the products and technologies that drive the advancement of aesthetic medicine. Our presence at AMWC was a true testament to this ethos.”
Insightful education
Throughout the three-day congress, there was a plethora of educational content, new innovations and research presented and showcased for delegates to implement into their own practices.
Galderma discussed lifting the heavy face with top practitioners Professor Sebastian Cotofana, Dr Andreas Nikolis, Dr Kay Durairaj, Christine Guarnieri, Dr Frank Rosengaus and Dr Stephanie Lam. The symposium explored the aesthetic journey as a long-term endeavour using Galderma’s Holistic Individualised Treatments (HITs).
As well as the two-hour session, Galderma also presented new data on the Sculptra Cheek Wrinkle study which demonstrated the long-lasting results over a 24-month period for cheek wrinkle correction with improvements in firmness and radiance. Data from the Alluzience STAR study was also showcased, demonstrating sustained improvement in glabellar lines up to month six.
Teoxane was also offering delegates some interesting content with the audience having 3D glasses. Dr Benji Dhillion showed how RHA gel moves under the skin in 3D, whilst Dr Patrick Trevidic led a 3D cadaver dissection of the perioral area and mid-face.
Other educational content on offer featured diversity and inclusion in aesthetic medicine, treating facial expressions, threads for the eyebrows, eyelid ptosis after toxin treatment and gut health. The future of aesthetics was discussed with regenerative medicine as a key trend in the specialty, looking at treatments such as exosomes, stem cells, gene therapy, injectable gels and membranes, as well as platelet-based therapies.
An evolving industry
The congress was also an optimal opportunity to speak to exhibitors and leading companies about the latest innovations developing in the specialty. APTOS announced the upcoming launch of Visage, a new thread with multidirectional, specially designed barbs. Swiss manufacturer RegenLab launched a new skincare line Regen4D, containing products designed for pre- and post-skin treatments. Aesthetic company EMA Aesthetics has also developed and trademarked the Sustainable Facial with its Préime DermaFacial, which launched at AMWC last year. The technology has partnered with 4Ocean, an ocean cleaning company, which allows the company to offset four times its plastic footprint and pay for the organisation to clean the oceans. 4Ocean has produced a range of collaborative bracelets with beads made from recycled ocean plastic.
AMWC will be returning on March 27-29, 2024, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.
