Study Confirms Safety of Botox and Dermal Fillers
Patients love neurotoxins (like Botox and Dysport) and dermal fillers (like Juvederm, Voluma, Restylane, and Sculptra) because they have the power to quickly reverse signs of aging without surgery. One of the greatest features of injectables, however, is that they are extremely safe.
According to a study recently published on JAMA Dermatology, serious negative side effects of injectables (such as severe bruising, lumpiness, or skin discoloration) occurred in less than 1 percent of cases analyzed.
About the study
The cosmetic industry is well aware that injectable treatments have highly reduced risk rates compared to other more invasive treatments such as facelift or brow lift surgery. This is primarily due to the less invasive nature of injectable treatments as they require no anesthesia, cutting of the skin, and little-to-no recovery time.
The major difference this study provides is scope. Previous studies on injectable treatments used small sample sizes. However, this study analyzed data of over 20,300 cases from 23 board certified dermatologists reported over a three month period.
The results are impressive: in total, about 1 in 416 patients experienced negative side effects from their injectable treatment. The study also revealed some interesting differences between specific injectable procedures. For example, Botox caused side effects in just 1 of 3,333 cases, whereas Juvederm caused lumpiness in 1 of 135 cases.
Choose the right provider
One caveat of these statistics is that the study only included data obtained from board certified dermatologists who have many years of experience in performing injectable-based procedures. As with any type of procedure, the instances of negative side effects is much greater when procedures are performed by inexperienced providers.
Always be selective when choosing an injector. You want to choose a physician or provider who is properly licensed to provide the procedure. When it comes to injectable treatments, experience is crucial: look for someone who has a vast amount of first-hand experience in the specific neurotoxin or dermal filler that you are interested in.
A united group of skin care specialists from Westlake Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery, Austin's leader in Dermatology and Plastic Surgery. Articles posted under WD staff are authored through combined contributions from our entire team, including Plastic Surgeons, Dermatologists, Aestheticians, Physician Assistants, Aesthetic Nurses, and Patient Coordinators.
Love my fillers and botox. I can confirm safe and pretty painless!
Good point on making sure that the practitioner has the proper licenses to dd fillers. Ever since I turned 50 last year I’ve noticed that I’ve started having more and more noticeable wrinkles whenever I smile. Going to try my first attempt at a filler. I’m in North Carolina, but if I was in Texas I would go to you 🙂