02/06/2026
One of the most common questions I get from students is: “Do you aspirate before injecting filler?”
The honest answer is that there are strong arguments both for and against aspiration, and it’s a topic that continues to be debated within aesthetics.
Personally, I choose to aspirate.
In the last 5 years, I have had 4 positive aspirations – 3 in the cheek area and 1 in the piriform fossa. My positive aspiration times varied between 4–9 seconds which is a huge leap.
But does aspiration completely eliminate the risk of a vascular occlusion? No. A negative aspiration does not guarantee that you are not within a vessel, and a positive aspiration does not mean an occlusion would definitely have occurred.
However, for me, aspiration is one of many safety measures I use alongside detailed anatomical knowledge, slow injection, low extrusion pressure, and careful patient assessment.
I appreciate the limitations of aspiration and understand the evidence both for and against it, but I personally feel more confident aspirating for around 10 seconds, than not aspirating at all. Knowing I have performed that additional safety check gives me reassurance during treatment.
As with many things in aesthetics, there is rarely a single right answer. What matters is understanding the evidence, recognising the limitations, maintaining excellent anatomy knowledge, and implementing multiple layers of safety to reduce risk as much as possible.
My practice, my choice: I aspirate.
Let me know in the comments what you do.
