Aesthetics reports on the highlights from the 19th Aesthetic & Anti-Aging Medicine World Congress
After two years of living in a mostly virtual world and being separated from career counterparts across the pond, industry professionals from around the globe were finally reunited at the 19th Aesthetic & Anti-Aging Medicine World Congress (AMWC), on the seafront at Monte Carlo, Monaco. Taking place between September 15-18, the conference hosted delegates from 130 countries, featured hundreds of speakers and held around 300 company exhibitors. Due to some countries still having COVID-19 restrictions in place, the event was hosted in a hybrid format this year, with co-founders Catherine Decuyper and Christophe Luino stating, “Moving to a hybrid model, this edition of the AMWC offered a unified meeting platform combining elements of a physical and virtual event, with the flexibility and choice to participate in person or remotely.”
Why perform one treatment, when you can do two? This was certainly a major theme throughout Thursday’s agenda, with Spanish dermatologist Dr Silvia Zimbres stating that using a combination of botulinum toxin and hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers is “always a good idea” during her talk for the day’s first session ‘Botulinum Toxin: Updates and Improvements’, which was co-chaired by Professor Bob Khanna. This was then followed by a session dedicated to combination treatments, chaired by ENT surgeon and aesthetic practitioner Dr Simon Ravichandran, which included discussions on the impact of combination treatments on patient satisfaction, combined treatments for lower face contouring: creating interesting shades and angles, and how to use HA combined with calcium hydroxyapatite in the same syringe. In a later session which covered the current hot topics in lasers and energy-based devices, Italian dermatologist Professor Leonardo Marini focused on chemical photopeels, presenting delegates with several case studies showing the positive outcomes of combining IPL and chemical peels for rejuvenation.
The Thursday Croma-Pharma symposium featured a talk from its German key opinion leader Dr Matthias Aust, who provided delegates with a masterclass in all-natural facial rejuvenation using PRP and microfat, particularly focusing on their use around the perioral area. He noted that advancements in fat grafting have made it a safer treatment option, and although he doesn’t believe it will overtake other treatments due to its downtime, it’s something that will begin to grow in popularity. The Q&A portion of the session again highlighted the growing interest in combination treatments, with Dr Aust receiving five separate questions about his opinions on combining PRP and microfat injections with other procedures, for example with botulinum toxin and lasers. He responded, “As it’s a superficial treatment I love to combine PRP with other treatments for optimal results, and I do it very often in my practice. To me the question isn’t whether we should combine treatments, but more how we should combine them, and what techniques we should use.”
The focus on combinations also continued into the second day of the congress, with aesthetic brand Neauvia discussing its new #NLIFT protocol. The presentation explained how the company has found that combining its HA fillers with its laser devices and topical skincare enables practitioners to achieve the best results, comparing each individual element to an instrument in an orchestra which needs to work in synergy to create the ‘perfect sound.’ The UK launch of Neauvia will take place at CCR on October 14 and 15, turn to p.20 for more information.
Advancements in dermal filler dominated the congress on Friday, playing host to two brand new launches. Aesthetic product manufacturer Laboratories VIVACY UK held a two-hour symposium featuring several live demonstrations to promote STYLAGE Lips Plus.
Later on, Croma-Pharma introduced its very first injectable to the aesthetics market, a new polynucleotide filler named juvenus. Hosted by the company’s key opinion leaders Dr Agnieszka Surowiecka and Professor Wioletta Barańska-Rybak, the session discussed their favourite techniques and benefits of combining juvenus with the company’s new skincare range, croma farewell, and a following session showed case studies using the range, presented by Dr Monika Sulovsky.
Discussing the two-day symposium, Dr Rita Rakus commented, “It was a delight to be back in Monaco at the AMWC congress and to reconnect with industry colleagues and peers. The team at Croma extended us a very warm welcome and were excellent hosts at the congress and the faculty events, and it was great to see the upcoming product launches including the exciting new PDRN technology and new Croma skincare.”
Other highlights from the second day of the congress included a session on temple injections, chaired by UK aesthetic practitioner Dr Dev Patel, and a discussion on the most talked about topics among practitioners and patients surrounding thread treatments, featuring a presentation from clinical lead of the Aesthetics Clinical Advisory Board, Mr Dalvi Humzah, in which he provided delegates with advice on how to know whether a patient should be treated with threads or a surgical face lift. On the congress, Dr Patel commented, “As always, AMWC has delivered sessions suitable for all levels, from the best practitioners across the world. It’s amazing to have the opportunity to share our knowledge with one another. You throw all of that into an unbeatable, glamourous location, and you really do have the perfect conference! If you’ve never been before, I can’t recommend going to AMWC next year enough.”
The 20th AMWC congress will take place in April next year, at the Grimaldi Forum, Monte-Carlo, Monaco.
