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Avoiding Skull Foramina during filler treatments: pop quiz!

It’s time for our latest Pop Quiz! This time it’s on avoiding skull foramina when administering filler treatments.

We’ve previously published an article on this precise subject, and shared it on the Harley Academy Instagram account. So if you’ve been paying attention – or if you’re a Level 7 student or graduate – you should have no problems with this Q&A!

Try your hand at the questions below before scrolling down to the answers...

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POP QUIZ ON AVOIDING SKULL FORAMINA DURING FILLER TREATMENTS

Keep a note of your answers to the following four questions. You can scroll to the bottom to check them afterwards – no cheating!


1. What exits the skull via cranial foramina?

A) Cranial nerves

B) Blood vessels

C) Both A & B

2. Why is it important to avoid skull foramina for filler treatments?

A) To avoid blood vessels

B) To avoid trauma to emerging nerves

C) Both A & B

3. To avoid skull foramina you can…

A) Palpate the infraorbital foramen

B) Palpate the supraorbital foramen

C) Both A & B

4. Most cranial foramen tend to align with which specific pattern from the front of the face?

A) A straight, vertical line

B) A line that curves to the left

C) A line that curves to the right

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LET'S SEE HOW YOU GOT ON!

The correct answers are…

1. What exits the skull via cranial foramina?

C) Both A & B is the correct answer.

Both the cranial nerves and blood vessels exit the skull via foramina.

2. Why is it important to avoid skull foramina for filler treatments?

C) Both A & B is the correct answer.

It’s important to steer clear of skull foramina during filler treatments to avoid blood vessels and trauma to emerging nerves.

3. To avoid skull foramina you can…

B) Palpate the supraorbital foramen is the correct answer.

The supraorbital foramen, or notch, is more easily palpable than the infraorbital foramen. By palpating the supraorbital foramen you can also approximately predict the location of the infraorbital and mental foramen in the vertical plane. This means you know where to avoid in those midface and lower face regions..

4. Most cranial foramen tend to align with which specific pattern from the front of the face?A) A straight, vertical line is the correct answer.

Typically the majority of skull foramen (supraorbital, infraorbital and mental) form a straight, vertical line down the front of the face. This also tends to correlate to the position of the second premolar.

If you aced this Pop Quiz, well done!

For those of you who didn’t, read through this short article by Harley Academy clinical lead, Dr Joanna Hackney on avoiding skull foramina. It’ll provide all the information you need to understand how and why this is so vital when administering dermal fillers.

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ANATOMICAL KNOWLEDGE FOR AESTHETICS PRACTITIONERS

Having a sound knowledge of facial anatomy is essential if you want to become an aesthetics specialist. It will allow you to be a safer injector as well as empowering you to better personalise filler treatments.

Providing a safe, bespoke service ensures your patients receive the best possible care and the most natural looking results.

When considering a career in aesthetic medicine, healthcare professionals often wonder how they can stand out, especially from low priced lay practitioners. This is one of those ways.

By using your medical knowledge and aesthetics training, including a solid foundation in anatomy, to offer a safe and ethical service with consistent results tailored to each patient’s own look, you’ll create word-of-mouth referrals.

This is how many new aesthetics practitioners start out – by treating friends and acquaintances, who are so pleased with their results that they recommend them to others. 

From here, you can grow your practice organically and at a steady pace, so your confidence grows in line with your patient list!

You can find out more about this in our discussion with cosmetic nurse prescriber, Lorraine Guinnan.

Lorraine is a Harley Academy senior clinical trainer and owner of Imagination Aesthetics in Watford. She built her thriving aesthetic practice by doing exactly this, after gaining her Level 7 qualification in Botox & Dermal Fillers, and still does not advertise!

Share this quiz with your fellow aesthetics practitioners to see how they get on!

All information correct at the time of publication.