Office Notes: Botox ®
Botox ® is FDA approved for frown lines and now for crow’s feet. During injection clinics in our office, the comments I hear from new patients are, “My last Botox ® did not last as long as I would like. The Botox ® did not work as well as I had hoped.” Patients with these complaints have usually had their last injections elsewhere. Often times, the injectionist is a non-physician and sometimes an individual with little or no medical training. Only physicians administer Botox ® in our office.
Botox ® is packaged in 100 unit bottles. This “unit” measurement is determined through a physiologic assay. The Botox ® package insert recommends 20 units for the frown lines. When the full 20 units is used in this one area, the results are consistent and should last for the full 3 to 6 months. It has become common practice in salons or med-spas to inject less than 20 units of Botox ® into the frown lines. Injecting less saves money. Reducing the dosage leads to decreased effectiveness and decreased longevity, so patients must often return for “touch up” injections to get the result they desire. My advice for the increased likelihood of a obtaining a professional and lasting result, is to consider having the full dosage recommended by the manufacturer (20 units for the frown lines) and to consider having your Botox ® done by a physician.
