General description
Botox aims to eliminate wrinkles in the face, commonly called "crow’s feet" or wrinkles between the eyebrows. They are marks left in the skin by the repetition of a muscular movement or gesture.
Benefits
If you want to look younger, BOTOX® (botulinum toxin type A) is what you need because it helps to reduce lines of expressions.
An additional benefit for people who suffer from headaches caused by the face’s permanent muscular contraction, especially during stressful times, is that pain usually disappears after the muscles are relaxed.
Technical description
Procedure – Butulinum toxin (commercially known as BOTOX®) has been therapeutically used for more than 20 years, and for 8 years in the fields of cosmetic and plastic surgery.
To apply this treatment, the patient must be sitting. The idea is to inject small quantities of BOTOX® (botulinum toxin type A) in the area where wrinkles appear. To do this, the plastic surgeon will ask you to contract the muscles that will be treated and he will inject the substance using a very thin needle.
The effects of BOTOX® (botulinum toxin type A) can be perceived from 5 to 10 days after the injection; the effect lasts for 4 or 6 months. Wrinkles gradually improve in a 12-week period; nevertheless, this period might vary depending on the patient.
Once BOTOX® is injected, you must remain horizontally during 4 hours so the toxin can be distributed and it can begin to have effects in the area where the nerve connects to the muscle.
Once the effects disappear, you can repeat the treatment. It has been proved that the bigger the amount of injections, the bigger the period during which the effects can be perceived.
After two weeks from the first treatment you can have another session of injections; this allows the surgeon to locate any resistance from the muscles. Around 90% or more patients positively respond to BOTOX® (botulinum toxin type A). So, there is 10% who do not respond to this treatment.
The success of this treatment lies in the muscles’ inability to tighten, which begins between 24 and 48 hours after the injection. The maximum weakening of the muscle can be determined in seven days. The paralysis of the muscle after the first injection lasts between four and seven months in most patients.
Even though there is no reported childbirth abnormalities related to this treatment, our policy is not to treat pregnant or breastfeeding women. Patients with record of neuromuscular conditions (multiple sclerosis and/or severe myasthenia) or other neurotransmission-related conditions must avoid this procedure.
Hospitalization – This is an ambulatory procedure.
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