Who can give Juvederm injections? What licensure is needed?

Who can legally inject juvederm from state to state varies.  Generally, physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners aer licensed to perform juvederm.  In some states, registered nurses can as well.  If you go to a center where the physician is not performing juvederm himself/herself, ensure that the person who is properly licensed, experienced, and properly supervised.

In New York, an injection such as a filler must be done by a physician, registered nurse or physician's assistant provided that the latter by supervised by a physician.

These laws vary by state.

The answer to the question depends on what state you are in. Some states consider Juvederm administration to be a procedure and limit it to physicians while others are more liberal and consider it similar to any other medicine injection and allow nurses and physician assistants to perform the procedures.

In my opinion, a better question is 'Who do you want to perform your injections?' Juvederm injections are generally performed in the face. While results are generally temporary, long lasting side effects can occur in rare instances. Performing the injections is not a complicated procedure; dealing with the possible complications can be. Physicians who are trained in facial anatomy, such as plastic surgeons and facial plastic surgeons, will be keenly aware of what it takes to get the results that you wish for and can deal with possible complications should they arise.

Most states permit nurses (R.N.s with supervising physician present), nurse practitioners, physician assistants (with supervising physician present), and physicians to administer Juvederm or any other injectable dermal filler. Dermatologists and plastic surgeons typically have nurses in their office performing these injections, since they are occupied performing surgeries or other procedures. Family physicians and other specialty physicians are more likely to perform these injections themselves, but they may also delegate the procedure to ancillary medical staff.

The licensure is not as important as the level of experience, training in anatomy, and outcomes. There does not exist a licensure or certification for a "medical aesthetician," so beware of any place that claims to have one of those.

Having trained many physicians in the delivery of dermal fillers, I have found that anyone who is comfortable with injections will do a better job in placement and have fewer complications. I train them not only in placement but also in the entire aesthetic of the area treated. Our faces are not symmetrical, so placement of filler or any other injectables like Botox should not be a set number of units or milliliters equally on both sides, but an artistic placement to naturally enhance your appearance.

Be sure to view before and after photos of patients treated by your injector. Ask about complications, bruising rate, granuloma formation, etc. Ask how many procedures your injector performs on a weekly basis. Many dermatologists and plastic surgeons do not do these injections on a regular basis, so you may have better results with someone else that does them more frequently. Sometimes they are a bit more aggressive, since they are used to doing procedures on sedated patients.

Each state sets its own rules on who can do various procedures. Some states are much more restrictive than others.

Keep in mind that just because a state allows an individual to perform a give procedure does NOT mean that individual is good at that procedure. Unfortunately, many regulations are created to make sure that there is somebody that the patient can sue if there is a problem rather than protecting the patient from harm in the first place.