Dr. Garramone provides Botox® services for men at his office in Fort Myers. Botox Cosmetic (Botulinum Toxin Type A) is a purified and sterilized extract from bacteria that helps reduce common signs of aging.
How Does Botox Work?
Botox Cosmetic works by temporarily weakening the targeted facial muscles. Therefore, they are not able to cause deep furrows. During treatment, very small doses of Botox Cosmetic are administered through a series of tiny injections into the area of the muscles and takes about two to five days to take effect on the muscle area. Over the following days to weeks, the lines will fade away. The timing to see results varies with the severity of the lines and furrows. The results can be quite dramatic and the effects usually last 3 to 4 months, in some cases longer. The length of time that the injections last also depends on the patient's genetics (muscle density), the amount of Botox injected, how fresh the Botox is, and the skill of the plastic surgeon doing the injections. Treatments done in proper conditions will usually last progressively longer up to a point that is determined again by the Botox quantity and the patient’s metabolism of the product.
The common misconception about Botox is that it will give the patient a “frozen” or expressionless appearance. In fact, when administered by an experienced plastic surgeon you will still be able to smile, frown and look surprised but with less or no lines in the areas treated. If you decide to discontinue using Botox Cosmetic, you will usually have a return of some of your previous muscle activity. Some of the side-effects of treatment, though rare, may include temporary bruising, tenderness at the injection site, and headache.
Depending on where the injections are placed you may experience brow asymmetry, forehead wrinkle asymmetry, or other facial asymmetry secondary to how a muscle responds to the injections. These types of issues are also temporary and can usually be adjusted by additional Botox Cosmetic into the areas. More concerning is when the medication is injected or diffused into other muscle groups that are not intended to be treated. When this occurs you may experience complications secondary to these other muscles not working correctly.
This can occur with treatment of the scowl lines and you may experience a lowering of your eyelid. This is very rare, and when it occurs it will last a few weeks. This can be treated with eye drops however when the eye drop medication wears off, the eyelid will droop again. This complication is usually seen with aggressive injections near these eye muscles. Be sure to discuss this with Dr. Garramone if you have questions or concerns. Botox has been used therapeutically for more than 17 years and is approved for use in more than 75 countries.