Botox

Botox is a naturally occurring protein produced by a bacterium called Clostridium Botulinum.  Although a potent toxin, in its purified form it is a safe and effective protein used in medicine for a variety of conditions for oven 50 years. In fact, some of the earliest utilization of BOTOX was in Ophthalmology treating young children with eye muscle imbalance and crossed eyes. In recent years, the Botulinum protein has been adapted to cosmetic use and its medicinal applications have widely expanded. Dr. Duzman has been a certified BOTOX physician since the FDA approval of BOTOX becoming approved for cosmetic use.

How does BOTOX work?

Botox works on blocking the transmission of electrical impulses from a nerve ending to the muscle it serves. This gently weakens the muscle’s action. On the skin, wrinkles form as the underlying muscle contracts and repeatedly creases the skin in the same place creating a wrinkle. By decreasing the muscle action, the skin crease is decreased and the skin has a chance to remodel and become smooth. Dr. Duzman carefully places just the right amount of BOTOX into the facial muscles to allow muscle relaxation yet maintaining some facial expression.

What should I expect?

The BOTOX procedure involves a mild numbing of the skin over the injected area with and ice pack. After that, the BOTOX material is reconstituted with sterile saline and drawn into a small syringe. Dr. Duzman will then determine where to inject and how much material to deliver to achieve the best therapeutic effect. After the treatment, you may have a little red area on the skin where the BOTOX was injected. These should go away within several hours.

The BOTOX effect will take several days and up to a week to notice. Naturally, the longer you use Botox, the better the reduction of wrinkles. This is because the skin has a longer time to remodel.

The BOTOX protein, like any protein in the body, is metabolized. BOTOX treatments usually last approximately 3-4 months. It is very important to realize and the expectations should be such that BOTOX treatment should be a maintenance treatment. When the treatment is stopped, the muscle will have full function and begin to crease the skin again. This results in a reformation or deepening of the wrinkle.

BOTOX treatment is an extremely safe, reversible and effective treatment indicated to reduce facial wrinkles. It is minimally invasive with a long successful record. Dr. Duzman carefully tailors the BOTOX treatment to your needs. As Dr. Duzman gets to know how you respond to BOTOX, adjustments can be made to improve and lengthen the effect of the treatment.