Dr. Wolf, all my friends are doing Botox and they look fantastic. I would like to do Botox but about five years ago I did it and it was scary. My brows became droopy and I could not put on my makeup. The doctor told me I had an allergic reaction and I’ve kept away from it ever since. What is your opinion of his assessment and what type of doctor should I go to?
The likelihood that you were allergic is slim to none. You more than likely had a bad injector put Botox in the wrong place and caused your drooping. I often hear patients who come to me and are scared to have any injectable material in their faces because of a bad experience.
Obviously, the key to having a good experience with Botox and other facial injectables is finding a qualified physician with experience as an injector. It is possible to have some mild drooping and other reactions when using facial injectables but it’s not very common.
The obvious question is how do I pick a qualified physician? You should try to find a physician who specializes and has been well trained in the use of these products. Because these injections are lucrative many physicians who are otherwise not trained or are minimally trained have entered the aesthetic arena.
In general, facial plastic surgeons, plastic surgeons,dermatologist and oculoplastic surgeons are the physicians who have been trained and have the most experience with facial injections.
An entire array of physicians such as gynecologist, urologist and dentist, to name a few, have decided that the money is too good not to be doing these injections. If you as a patient choose to see any of these physicians, you should ask questions such as what was involved in their training, how long have they been injecting, and what kind of complications have they had.
Facial injectables are not without complication and certainly with the expense of these injectables, having good results should be a realistic expectation.
Dr. Wolf’s office is located at 8940 N. Kendall Dr., Suite 903E. He may be reached at 305-595-2969 or at www.miamiplasticsurgery.com.
