Benefits of Botox®
Botox® has received a lot of press recently, but actually has been in use since 1973 for certain medical conditions. Because its safety record had been proven, Dr. Zweig has offered it to his patients since 1997. It is a safe and very effective treatment for creases and wrinkles produced by facial expression muscles repeatedly furrowing the skin. Botox® is used to treat the distinct muscles causing vertical frown lines between the eyebrows, horizontal forehead lines, and crows feet radiating from the outside corners of the eye caused by laughing or squinting. It also reduces or eliminates previous skin creases or wrinkles caused by these muscle movements.
The dynamic muscles relax more and more over time, not only helping to achieve smoother skin but also preventing further wrinkling. This has the added benefit of allowing the patient to go longer between treatments.
There are three areas that are treated successfully. The area between the eyebrows, called the glabella is one that makes people look angry and intense. With the muscle relaxed a patient looks relaxed and happier. The forehead area and crow's feet are also popular.
Until now there was no successful medical or surgical solution for many of these areas, particularily crow's feet. Even with the deepest chemical peel, laser resurfacing techniques or surgery, return of these lines was inevitable. The results are not only rapid and dramatic, but Botox® is the best solution.
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How Botox is done
At the Zweig Center, Dr. Arnold Zweig, carefully identifies and marks the muscles to be treated. Maximum wrinkle reduction is achieved by temporarily blocking the contraction of the appropriate muscles. Normal facial expression is maintained while unhappy muscle contraction is minimized or eliminated.
Both proper dilution and injection technique assure the longest lasting and best results. There are numerous patients who have had injections elsewhere who comment that not only does Dr. Zweig’s treatment work better, but it lasts longer.
Botox® does not work immediately. Most patients notice a difference in approximately 2 to 5 days with full benefit a few days later. We ask patients to call and come back within 2 to 3 weeks if the treatment is not successful. Occasionally this happens and Dr Zweig will do a booster at no charge.
In the beginning, most patients require Botox® treatment again after 3 to 4 months. If the area is retreated fairly consistently before full movement returns, the treatment lasts months longer and patients lose the habit of frowning, further increasing the effect.
Allergan Inc. manufactures the product Botox®, which comes frozen in a dry concentrated form. The physician dilutes it prior to use. Dr Zweig prefers to use a freshly prepared solution and is able to do this daily because of his large volume of Botox® patients.
Botox® is a simple office procedure performed on millions of patients with uncommon but temporary side effects. Patients are able to apply make-up immediately or just return to work. Occasionally a patient will experience minor bruising at the injection site.
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