Nontraditional uses for Botox.

• Position: Plastic Surgery - Brief Article

Botox, a purified, botulinum A toxin used to block nerve impulses and temporarily paralyze muscles that cause wrinkles, is safe and effective for nontraditional uses in facial rejuvenation, according to a study co-authored by Alan Matarasso, associate professor of plastic surgery, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York. It can also be utilized in conjunction with procedures such as forehead lifts, facelifts, and eyelid surgery; to combat migraine headaches; and to eliminate hyperhydrosis (excessive perspiration).

Traditionally, plastic surgeons have used Botox on patients who desired to diminish dynamic wrinkles on their neck or top third of their face nonsurgically. Dynamic wrinkles, caused by years of facial movement, include frown lines (vertical lines between the eyebrows), forehead creases, and crow's feet. Botox can be used for the central face and mouth to get rid of wrinkles underneath the lower eyelid, along the nasal fold, and underneath the lower lip, and vertical creases above the...