Despite sensational media coverage of Botox-related medical problems, patients have remained unfazed, says Dr. Christopher Zachary, chairman of the Department of Dermatology at UCI Medical School.
The news coverage may end up encouraging more patients to turn to doctors for Botox injections, Zachary says.
“How come panic-stricken patients were not lining up outside our offices, expressing their fear of Botox?” Zachary asks in commentary about the recent petition for stronger Botox warning labels from the advocacy group Public Citizen. His answer: Doctors trust Botox, so patients do too.
His commentary also discusses the renewed review of the wrinkle-fighter’s safety by the Food and Drug Administration.
In the piece, published online today in Cosmetic Surgery Times, Zachary writes:
Public Citizen’s claims were irresponsible — the truth is that more than a million people have been treated with Botox for cosmetic use; in its entire history, there has never been a single reported death where a causal link to Botox Cosmetic has been established. The patients I treat with Botox for cosmetic purposes have nary a side effect, and overall, in its more than 18-year history since the product was first approved worldwide, reports of serious adverse events following Botox have been rare.
Physicians know this and feel comfortable using Botox, and as a result, patients feel comfortable with the treatment and have built a trust in the Botox brand over many years.
In fact, among my colleagues, there was an acknowledgement that the Public Citizen outcry may have an unintended positive effect — the attention around the issue may help drive prospective Botox patients to medical offices for treatment rather than nonmedical spas where Botox is so often injected.
Botox is made by Irvine-based Allergan.
Botox news coverage may boost injections by doctors is a post from: In Your Face