More than a year has passed since an unlicensed osteopathic physician in Florida injected himself and three others with industrial-grade botulinum toxin. The patients involved have not completely recovered, but they have done remarkably well. The physician, Bach McComb, was sentenced to 3 years in federal prison for injecting himself and three others with the fake Botox in November 2004, according to a Jan. 26 article in the Miami Herald.
Injections of Botox Cosmetic, which were stalled for several months following this incident, have also made a comeback. But, many patients do view Botox differently now and have more questions than ever. This incident has affected the world of cosmetic dermatology and the practice of treating patients with Botox.
Concerns for Safety
While the number of patients receiving Botox is growing, I think we’ve lost quite a few potential candidates. A large number of potential patients are now convinced that Botox is poisonous, despite efforts by numerous physicians and medical organizations to educate the public regarding the total disconnect between the injection of a counterfeit product by an unlicensed osteopathic physician and the injection of an FDA-approved product by a physician. No matter how many discussions have occurred in physician offices, patients still remember the sensational headlines about Botox poisoning people, particularly here in Florida.
Not surprisingly, once it was discovered that it was not Botox that was the culprit, reporting basically ceased and most people only remember the sensational, if inaccurate, headlines. I think that there are people that were contemplating Botox treatments that are now permanently scared. This is a shame because they are missing out on one of the safest and most efficacious treatments in the cosmetic world.
Since Botox treatments have been linked with improved self esteem and are frequently associated with other cosmetic treatments, these patients are losing out on a host of relatively low-cost, low-risk and high-satisfaction procedures.
Looking to Alternative Treatments
Another major repercussion from the Botox scare is that some patients now purchase the various creams that are advertised as Botox alternatives instead of undergoing Botox treatments.
A controlled clinical trial compared these creams with Botox Cosmetic and found that the creams were similar in efficacy to placebo in most aspects. Despite this, patients are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on these products. While this is not the end of the world, it is a shame that they are spending limited financial resources on products that may not work as well as Botox simply because of unfounded and irrational fears.
Physicians and other individuals in the esthetic marketplace are now adapting to misplaced patient fears by using alternate modalities to address patient concerns. For example, some patients are receiving treatment with radiofrequency or filler agents in areas of the face that really wouldn’t benefit from these modalities. While each of these treatments has its place, these choices are typically best used as adjuncts for glabellar and periocular rhytids instead of substitutes for Botox.
Reputation and Training Matter
In my practice, the major repercussion of the bootleg botulinum injections has been time: I now have to spend a great deal of time discussing the difference between what I do (and have done since 1998) and what others in my area have done and, in some instances, continue to do. Most of my patients know my training and reputation and simply ask me to treat them as I see fit. My patients do not know that I am injecting 25 or 50 units of material purchased from Allergan, but because they trust my training and reputation they also trust that I am putting their health and best interest first.
Perhaps this is a benefit of the counterfeit Botox fiasco. Patients now have a vague sense that reputation and training matter. Spending $200 to have a product of unclear pedigree injected by someone with an unclear degree, rather than a trained dermatologist, is now less important to intelligent people than obtaining a safe and effective outcome. In short, there is a flight to quality. Seeing four people on ventilators changed the way that patients perceive cosmetic procedures. This flight to quality should be good for ethical physicians who have always done what they thought was best for their patients as well as their reputations.
Educating Patients
We still get calls price shopping for the cheapest Botox, Restylane or laser hair removal and I am amazed that people consider this factor more than the safety issue. I understand that not all patients have the discretionary incomes that would enable them to write blank checks (that will clear) for cosmetic procedures. But the instances of scarring from lasers, poisonings from counterfeit products and injections of impure silicone have opened the door for us to educate people on the difference between value and price.
There needs to be a collaboration between industry and the professional organizations to educate patients about the qualifications of physicians injecting them and the pedigree of products being injected. This would benefit patients, physicians and industry alike.
More than a year has passed since an unlicensed osteopathic physician in Florida injected himself and three others with industrial-grade botulinum toxin. The patients involved have not completely recovered, but they have done remarkably well. The physician, Bach McComb, was sentenced to 3 years in federal prison for injecting himself and three others with the fake Botox in November 2004, according to a Jan. 26 article in the Miami Herald.
Injections of Botox Cosmetic, which were stalled for several months following this incident, have also made a comeback. But, many patients do view Botox differently now and have more questions than ever. This incident has affected the world of cosmetic dermatology and the practice of treating patients with Botox.
Concerns for Safety
While the number of patients receiving Botox is growing, I think we’ve lost quite a few potential candidates. A large number of potential patients are now convinced that Botox is poisonous, despite efforts by numerous physicians and medical organizations to educate the public regarding the total disconnect between the injection of a counterfeit product by an unlicensed osteopathic physician and the injection of an FDA-approved product by a physician. No matter how many discussions have occurred in physician offices, patients still remember the sensational headlines about Botox poisoning people, particularly here in Florida.
Not surprisingly, once it was discovered that it was not Botox that was the culprit, reporting basically ceased and most people only remember the sensational, if inaccurate, headlines. I think that there are people that were contemplating Botox treatments that are now permanently scared. This is a shame because they are missing out on one of the safest and most efficacious treatments in the cosmetic world.
Since Botox treatments have been linked with improved self esteem and are frequently associated with other cosmetic treatments, these patients are losing out on a host of relatively low-cost, low-risk and high-satisfaction procedures.
Looking to Alternative Treatments
Another major repercussion from the Botox scare is that some patients now purchase the various creams that are advertised as Botox alternatives instead of undergoing Botox treatments.
A controlled clinical trial compared these creams with Botox Cosmetic and found that the creams were similar in efficacy to placebo in most aspects. Despite this, patients are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on these products. While this is not the end of the world, it is a shame that they are spending limited financial resources on products that may not work as well as Botox simply because of unfounded and irrational fears.
Physicians and other individuals in the esthetic marketplace are now adapting to misplaced patient fears by using alternate modalities to address patient concerns. For example, some patients are receiving treatment with radiofrequency or filler agents in areas of the face that really wouldn’t benefit from these modalities. While each of these treatments has its place, these choices are typically best used as adjuncts for glabellar and periocular rhytids instead of substitutes for Botox.
Reputation and Training Matter
In my practice, the major repercussion of the bootleg botulinum injections has been time: I now have to spend a great deal of time discussing the difference between what I do (and have done since 1998) and what others in my area have done and, in some instances, continue to do. Most of my patients know my training and reputation and simply ask me to treat them as I see fit. My patients do not know that I am injecting 25 or 50 units of material purchased from Allergan, but because they trust my training and reputation they also trust that I am putting their health and best interest first.
Perhaps this is a benefit of the counterfeit Botox fiasco. Patients now have a vague sense that reputation and training matter. Spending $200 to have a product of unclear pedigree injected by someone with an unclear degree, rather than a trained dermatologist, is now less important to intelligent people than obtaining a safe and effective outcome. In short, there is a flight to quality. Seeing four people on ventilators changed the way that patients perceive cosmetic procedures. This flight to quality should be good for ethical physicians who have always done what they thought was best for their patients as well as their reputations.
Educating Patients
We still get calls price shopping for the cheapest Botox, Restylane or laser hair removal and I am amazed that people consider this factor more than the safety issue. I understand that not all patients have the discretionary incomes that would enable them to write blank checks (that will clear) for cosmetic procedures. But the instances of scarring from lasers, poisonings from counterfeit products and injections of impure silicone have opened the door for us to educate people on the difference between value and price.
There needs to be a collaboration between industry and the professional organizations to educate patients about the qualifications of physicians injecting them and the pedigree of products being injected. This would benefit patients, physicians and industry alike.
More than a year has passed since an unlicensed osteopathic physician in Florida injected himself and three others with industrial-grade botulinum toxin. The patients involved have not completely recovered, but they have done remarkably well. The physician, Bach McComb, was sentenced to 3 years in federal prison for injecting himself and three others with the fake Botox in November 2004, according to a Jan. 26 article in the Miami Herald.
Injections of Botox Cosmetic, which were stalled for several months following this incident, have also made a comeback. But, many patients do view Botox differently now and have more questions than ever. This incident has affected the world of cosmetic dermatology and the practice of treating patients with Botox.
Concerns for Safety
While the number of patients receiving Botox is growing, I think we’ve lost quite a few potential candidates. A large number of potential patients are now convinced that Botox is poisonous, despite efforts by numerous physicians and medical organizations to educate the public regarding the total disconnect between the injection of a counterfeit product by an unlicensed osteopathic physician and the injection of an FDA-approved product by a physician. No matter how many discussions have occurred in physician offices, patients still remember the sensational headlines about Botox poisoning people, particularly here in Florida.
Not surprisingly, once it was discovered that it was not Botox that was the culprit, reporting basically ceased and most people only remember the sensational, if inaccurate, headlines. I think that there are people that were contemplating Botox treatments that are now permanently scared. This is a shame because they are missing out on one of the safest and most efficacious treatments in the cosmetic world.
Since Botox treatments have been linked with improved self esteem and are frequently associated with other cosmetic treatments, these patients are losing out on a host of relatively low-cost, low-risk and high-satisfaction procedures.
Looking to Alternative Treatments
Another major repercussion from the Botox scare is that some patients now purchase the various creams that are advertised as Botox alternatives instead of undergoing Botox treatments.
A controlled clinical trial compared these creams with Botox Cosmetic and found that the creams were similar in efficacy to placebo in most aspects. Despite this, patients are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on these products. While this is not the end of the world, it is a shame that they are spending limited financial resources on products that may not work as well as Botox simply because of unfounded and irrational fears.
Physicians and other individuals in the esthetic marketplace are now adapting to misplaced patient fears by using alternate modalities to address patient concerns. For example, some patients are receiving treatment with radiofrequency or filler agents in areas of the face that really wouldn’t benefit from these modalities. While each of these treatments has its place, these choices are typically best used as adjuncts for glabellar and periocular rhytids instead of substitutes for Botox.
Reputation and Training Matter
In my practice, the major repercussion of the bootleg botulinum injections has been time: I now have to spend a great deal of time discussing the difference between what I do (and have done since 1998) and what others in my area have done and, in some instances, continue to do. Most of my patients know my training and reputation and simply ask me to treat them as I see fit. My patients do not know that I am injecting 25 or 50 units of material purchased from Allergan, but because they trust my training and reputation they also trust that I am putting their health and best interest first.
Perhaps this is a benefit of the counterfeit Botox fiasco. Patients now have a vague sense that reputation and training matter. Spending $200 to have a product of unclear pedigree injected by someone with an unclear degree, rather than a trained dermatologist, is now less important to intelligent people than obtaining a safe and effective outcome. In short, there is a flight to quality. Seeing four people on ventilators changed the way that patients perceive cosmetic procedures. This flight to quality should be good for ethical physicians who have always done what they thought was best for their patients as well as their reputations.
Educating Patients
We still get calls price shopping for the cheapest Botox, Restylane or laser hair removal and I am amazed that people consider this factor more than the safety issue. I understand that not all patients have the discretionary incomes that would enable them to write blank checks (that will clear) for cosmetic procedures. But the instances of scarring from lasers, poisonings from counterfeit products and injections of impure silicone have opened the door for us to educate people on the difference between value and price.
There needs to be a collaboration between industry and the professional organizations to educate patients about the qualifications of physicians injecting them and the pedigree of products being injected. This would benefit patients, physicians and industry alike.
