Aesthetic Complications: Recognition and Management (Theory Only) CPD Course

CPD accredited · 4 CPD credits · Certificate on completion

Most aesthetic complications are manageable when they're caught early. Delay turns the same complication into a serious one.

Foundation training shows you how to inject. It doesn't teach you what to do when something goes wrong: the lip that blanches mid-treatment, the patient whose breathing changes in the chair, or the message three weeks later about a lump that won't go away. In those moments, what matters is how quickly you recognise what's happening and what you do in the next few minutes.

Could you answer these right now, without looking anything up?

• A patient's lip blanches during filler, then turns dusky. What do you do first, and what changes if you're not a prescriber?
• A patient becomes wheezy and flushed minutes after treatment. What dose of adrenaline do you give, and where?
• A firm lump appears three months after filler. Is it a nodule, an infection or a biofilm, and how can you tell?
• A bluish tinge appears under the eyes days after tear trough filler. What is it, and how is it treated?
• A patient's eyelid droops a week after toxin. What's happened, and how long is it likely to last?
• An area is red, swollen and tender two days after filler. Is it infection or a hypersensitivity reaction?

If any of those made you hesitate, this course was written for you.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Recognise each complication from its presenting signs and timeline, and tell similar-looking complications apart
• Take the correct immediate steps, from conservative measures to emergency care, and know exactly when to escalate
• Understand what you can and can't do depending on whether you're a prescriber
• Hand over clearly to 999 using a structured script you've prepared in advance
• Document a complication honestly, completely and at the time it happens
• Apply one consistent framework (assess, categorise, respond, escalate, document) to any complication, including ones you haven't seen before

What's covered:

• Anaphylaxis: the ABCDE approach, adrenaline dosing, positioning, refractory anaphylaxis and post-reaction observation
• Vascular occlusion: mechanisms, high-risk areas, capillary refill, the high-dose pulsed hyaluronidase protocol, visual loss and necrosis staging, with real clinical case images
• Infection and hypersensitivity reactions: early versus late-onset infection, atypical organisms, Type I and Type IV reactions, and how to tell them apart
• Nodules and Tyndall effect: biofilm, delayed onset nodules versus delayed onset reactions, and when hyaluronidase is and isn't appropriate
• Anti-wrinkle complications: ptosis, asymmetry, "Mephisto" brow, headache, dry eye, diplopia, bruising, overcorrection, antibody resistance, and telling flu-like symptoms apart from botulism
• Documentation and consent: what a complication record needs, photography consent, record retention and valid consent

Who it's for: qualified aesthetic practitioners, medical and non-medical. This isn't a foundation course and doesn't teach injection technique. To enrol, you'll need certificated foundation training in botulinum toxin type A and/or dermal filler, and current Basic Life Support and anaphylaxis training.

Why this course is different:

• Written by a practising nurse independent prescriber who runs her own aesthetic clinic, so it's built around what actually happens in a treatment room.
• Management is split by prescribing status. Every complication sets out what to do if you're not a prescriber and what to do if you are, so you know exactly where your role starts and stops.
• Evidence-based and honest. Grounded in guidance from the Resuscitation Council UK, the Aesthetic Complications Expert (ACE) Group and the British Neurotoxin Network, with real incidence data. Where the evidence is thin or contested, it says so.
• Counts towards your revalidation. CPD accredited, with a certificate you can add straight to your portfolio.

CPD accredited by The CPD Group: 4 CPD credits. Includes an end-of-course assessment (23 questions, 75% pass mark, unlimited retakes). Once you pass, you'll receive a personalised certificate of completion for your CPD record and revalidation portfolio.

Instant access after purchase. Log in to your Tevello member portal to start straight away and work through it at your own pace.