Whether they intend to or not, cosmetic surgeons are treating botulinum toxin patients for more than to diminish facial lines.
Dr. Torkian Beverly Hills facial plastic surgeon Behrooz Torkian, M.D., says lots of his botulinum toxin type A patients come in initially for cosmetic issues. The migraine sufferers among them, however, know the neuromodulator treatment is wearing off when their headaches return.
“I just do the same cosmetic Botox that I do for everybody else, but there happen to be some people that say it works for their migraines, so they’ll come back for that,” Dr. Torkian says.
The cosmetic practice is fertile ground for blossoming botulinum toxin use. Newly released 2016 plastic surgery statistics by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) show Botox [Allergan], Xeomin [Merz Aesthetics] and Dysport [Galderma] treatment were by leaps and bounds the most popular among the minimally invasive procedures member plastic surgeons performed in 2016. Of the 15.5 million minimally invasive procedures that year, botulinum toxin type A treatments exceeded 7 million, according to ASPS.
