Botox For Baldness
June 24th, 2009
The telegraph.co.uk website reported on an anecdotal case of hair restoration utilizing a combination of Botox ® and vitamins. Dr. Ourian in Beverly Hills reports on a treatment for his mother. She had undergone chemotherapy treatment which had left her without hair suffering from headaches. Her son turned to Botox ® injections in an effort to reduce her headaches. He added vitamins to the Botox ® for unstated reasons. Fortunately his mother not only had relief of her headaches but also regrew her hair.
These difficult economic times lead to creative marketing. The potential publicity is extremely valuable. Proprietary, minimal recovery, minimal cost, and very low risk treatments are appealing to patients suffering hair loss. This is particularly acute for chemotherapy patients. Hair loss can be the most distressing part of chemotherapy for women and men. Almost all of these patients will have spontaneous regrowth of their hair if nothing is done!
This is a single case report. I fear individuals with hair loss will feel compelled to seek out centers offering this off label use of Botox ®. They will turn to anything which might give them their hair back. It will linger as “Internet legend” long past the completion of meaningful scientific studies two to three years from now. Even if this treatment is shown to be ineffectual, I fear the practice will continue for years.
Nipntucks Sooner or Later?
June 23rd, 2009
Today is injection day at my office. Botox ® and Restylane ® fillers will be injected to help reduce the effects of aging. Generally Botox ® is injected around the eyes and forehead to reduce wrinkles. The filler materials are injected into the lower face and lips to counter the aging changes. These do wonders with little or no down time, but they are temporary fixes. Eventually, surgical measures will need to be considered, to maintain a youthful appearance to the face.
Facial rejuvenation surgery will improve many of the same conditions which injections improve, but provide the patient with a more long-lasting change. Forehead lift surgery reduces the need for botox ® and face lift surgery acts to reduce the need for Restylane ®. So when is the time to consider these surgeries?
As a general guideline, patients often consider surgery when the annual expense for injections reaches 10% of what surgery would cost. Most rejuvenation surgery lasts at least 10 years before the aging process catches up. However, most surgery lasts significantly longer, before signs of aging return. If you are spending more than 10% on these quick fixes, you most like likely would benefit from the surgery.
There are certain conditions where surgery is not an adequately remedy. In fact, crows feet are very difficult to treat with surgery. Botox is best for these fine lines around the eyes. Similarly, injections are well-suited as a remedy for thin lips. It is my opinion that the surgical option for thin lips looks too artificial or “done.” Finally, the fine lines on the lips respond well to injections without the skin bleaching that is often cased by deep chemical peels or laser resurfacing. As with any cosmetic procedure, I encourage my patients to understand their choices.
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