Photo of ischemia signs for the chart

When vascular occlusion is suspected, the clock rules. The emergency response, defined by the clinic's protocols and your professional council's rules, comes before anything else, including photography. But once the measures are under way, a timestamped record of the signs gains value: it documents the picture, guides whoever takes over care and protects the documentation of the care provided.

This page covers only the photo record for the chart. It does not describe therapeutic management or replace emergency training.

The photo never comes before the response

If vascular compromise is suspected, follow the clinic's protocol without delay. The photo can be taken by an assistant while the professional treats the patient, or by you right after the immediate measures are under way. In higher-risk areas, such as the glabella and the nasolabial fold, time is decisive. The pages on the clinical picture are in glabellar vascular occlusion and vascular occlusion in the nasolabial fold.

Which signs may appear and deserve recording?

Signs described in general terms in the safety literature on HOF:

The photo records appearance. Disproportionate pain, visual loss or change and other relevant symptoms do not show in the image and must be noted in the chart.

How do you record with date and time?

Time is part of the record. For each image:

1. Enable date and time in the file (device metadata) and note them in the chart.
2. If possible, include a clock in the frame, or the phone's own display showing the time, without exposing personal data.
3. Note the time since the procedure.
4. Record the exact area and the side.
5. Include a scale reference (tape or ruler), if feasible without delay.

Be careful with location metadata when sharing: see metadata and location in patient photos.

Which photos should you take?

• Overview of the face, to place the area.
• Close-up of the affected area, with the surrounding skin.
• Faithful color, with no flash and no filters, with automatic white balance acceptable in this situation.
• Repetition at short intervals, defined by the response plan, to show progress.

This is not the time for perfect standardization. The priority is a quick, legible, dated record. Full standardization applies to the later follow-up.

What should you note?

This aligns with the routine in chart and documentation in HOF and with the general flow in complication photo: how to record it safely.

Privacy and sharing

Complication images are sensitive health data. Store them in the chart, with restricted access. If you need a second opinion, use a secure channel, with a clear purpose and, where appropriate, minimizing the data that identify the patient. See sharing a photo with another professional, patient photo on personal WhatsApp and consent and LGPD (Brazil's data protection law) in photos.

And in Harmy?

Harmy does not record or monitor complications: it is a planning and illustrative simulation app. Images of ischemia signs belong in the clinic's chart, with restricted access, and must never be entered into the app, publicized or used as marketing material.

Reviewing the record after the event

Once care is over, it is worth reviewing the chart calmly: do the photo times match the response times? Are the signs and symptoms described? Are the images archived with restricted access? This review protects the patient, because whoever treats them next will have a clear history, and also the clinic, because the documentation reflects what was done. If there are gaps, fix the routine and train the team, without altering records already made. Any addition must be identified as such, with date and author, so that the history remains legible to whoever consults it later.

Summary

Response first, dated photo afterward or in parallel, complete notes and secure storage. A well-made record documents the picture without competing with care.