Botulinum toxin
What is botulinum toxin?Botulinum toxin is a medication that allows the temporary inhibition of the mimic muscles of the face, thus reducing the occurrence of worry lines.There are seven types of botulinum neurotoxin (A, B, C1, D, E, F and G), derived from the bacterial strain Clostridium Botulinum selected in laboratory. The ones that can be used in humans and currently found on the market are type A (Vistabex, Vistabel, Botox, Botoxin, Dysport) and type B (Myobloc and Neurobloc). At first, botulinum toxin was used in medicine to prevent neuromuscular spasms of the eyelids and to correct strabismus, but starting from 1987 it began to be used in the United States even in cosmetic surgery. In Italy, the use of botulinum toxin was authorized by the Ministry of Health in 2004 limited to only one kind of medication named Vistabex (in Italy), Botox (in the United States) or Vistabel (in France), and only for the treatment of glabellar wrinkles on patients not older than 65, provided that the preparation was injected by a specialist in plastic surgery, dermatology, neurology or maxillofacial surgery. Who is this kind of treatment indicated for?Botulinum toxin is indicated for the treatment of (dynamic) worry lines on the upper part of the face (brow and periocular region), although the medication was approved only for the treatment of glabellar wrinkles (that is, the wrinkles that occur between the eyebrows).Can botulinum toxin be used to reduce sudoresis too?Yes. One more important application of botulinum toxin is to correct "hyperhidrosis", that is the excessive sweating of the armpits, the hands or the feet, which can be easily eliminated by this treatment.Are there age limits to go for this treatment?The use of botulinum toxin is unadvisable with patients younger than 18 or older than 65, as well as for pregnant women.Who is authorized to use botulinum toxin?The Ministry of Health authorized the use of botulinum toxin only on the part of physicians specializing in plastic surgery, dermatology, neurology or maxillofacial surgery.How is botulinum toxin used in cosmetic surgery?Botulinum toxin is injected in very small doses into the areas to be treated by means of a syringe with a very thin needle.What kind of anaesthetic is given?Being practically painless, the treatment with botulinum toxin does not require anaesthesia.Where are the injections made?The injections of botulinum toxin are made inside the mimic muscles and do not leave any visible mark.
How long is the treatment?The treatment with botulinum toxin is reversible, lasts few minutes and does not leave any visible mark preventing the patients from promptly resuming their daily activities. This is the reason for the great success and the growing diffusion of this new treatment in the cosmetic field.What kind of result can be achieved by this treatment?Botulinum toxin, by temporarily inhibiting the activity of mimic muscles of the face, allows the occurrence of worry lines to be reduced.The effect of mimic muscle relaxation and wrinkle reduction begins about 4 days after the treatment and lasts about 4-6 months, after which it is possible to repeat the treatment periodically. The cosmetic result in the treated areas is so satisfactory that, in the last few years, botulinum toxin has practically replaced the brow-lift surgical operation. If you wish to take this subject further, we advise you to visit the botulinum toxin FAQ page and wrinkle reduction FAQ page, where you will find the answers to the most frequent questions asked by the patients. |
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Chirurgia-plastica-estetica.it Prof. Mario Dini Chairman and Director of Plastic Surgery Dept. - University of Florence |
