The American Med Spa Association (AmSpa) today announced that it has acquired the Academy for Injection Anatomy (AIA), a clinical training program created by renowned plastic surgeon and anatomist Chris Surek, DO, that provides unique, hands-on facial anatomy education for injectors.

"AmSpa has always wanted to provide best-in-class hands-on clinical and didactic training but, until now, we hadn't found the right partner," says AmSpa Founder and CEO, Alex R. Thiersch, JD. "When the opportunity to bring Dr. Surek and his team to AmSpa presented itself, I jumped at the opportunity, with enthusiasm. Dr. Surek's Academy for Injection Anatomy is unquestionably the gold standard in the industry for injectable training."

Unlike other anatomy-based injectable training programs, the AIA allows all course participants to take part in actual injection and dissection activities, directly under the instruction of Dr. Surek and the other renowned members of the AIA faculty. The program is perfectly in keeping with AmSpa's dedication to improving the medical aesthetic industry through compliance and safety, making the combination of the two organizations a natural fit.

"This is going to be a very special partnership," says Dr. Surek. "Over the past few months, behind the scenes, I have been working with my faculty, including our newest member, Steven Weiner, MD, to develop a fresh, unique and fully comprehensive one-stop-shop training course for injectors of all skill levels. This comprehensive injection training course will include full face anatomy, injection technique, rheology, toxin science, complication management and ultrasound—all assembled in a high-yield two-day course including our world-class, one-of-a-kind, hands-on cadaver lab curriculum. I am so excited to team up with AmSpa and take this vision and passion nationally and internationally."

Dr. Surek is a board-certified plastic surgeon and internationally recognized facial anatomist. He is an assistant professor of anatomy at Kansas City University in Kansas City, Missouri, and is a clinical assistant professor of plastic surgery at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He specializes in cosmetic surgery of the face, breast and body, as well as non-invasive facial rejuvenation procedures. He has co-authored several book chapters and published original research in facial cosmetic surgery, facial anatomy and filler injection. Dr. Surek is also the co-author of Facial Volumization: An Anatomic Approach, an anatomy-based textbook for filler injections. He serves as a key opinion leader for several companies within the aesthetic industry and teaches cadaver-based facial anatomy courses nationally and internationally.

"Not only is Dr. Surek an incredibly dynamic and passionate teacher, but also his training as both an anatomist and board-certified plastic surgeon makes him one of the most qualified and sought-after instructors of aesthetic injections in the world," says Thiersch. "His knowledge of anatomy and aesthetic technique, coupled with a passion for teaching and a desire to get the most out of his students, makes him the unquestioned leader in injectables training worldwide. I am so excited to bring Dr. Surek and his incredible faculty into the AmSpa family."

The AIA is based in Kansas City, Missouri and, until now, injectors who wished to participate in the course had to travel there to do so. However, now that the AIA is part of AmSpa, it will be available to injectors throughout the country in conjunction with AmSpa's Boot Camps. Additional seating for the AIA two-day trainings in Kansas City on February 13-14, March 13-14, April 17-18 and May 15-16 will be released in the very near future. To register for these events, visit www.americanmedspa.org/injectionanatomy.

"Our goal in acquiring the AIA was not to change what Dr. Surek is doing, because he is already the best at what he does, but to add to it by increasing the scope and breadth of his offerings, all while keeping the course affordable and accessible to everyone in the industry," Thiersch says. "AmSpa will help pass his knowledge to more people, in more locations, than ever before."