Botox Cosmetic

Botox Parties

Plastic surgery parties, seminars, and social gatherings are key elements of Botox marketing in much of the United States. A group of middle-aged men and women get together for a “Botox party.” They hire a doctor for the event; and split the costs of treatment. Refreshments are served, which often includes alcohol. (It should be noted that Botox injections should never be mixed with alcohol).

One by one, as their name is called, each “patient” slips away to a private exam room. A fee is paid, and the patient signs an informed consent agreement. Anesthesia is rarely used, but sedatives and numbing agents are usually made available. The practitioner injects about one-tenth of a teaspoon of toxin into specific muscles of the forehead, most often targeted for the effect. Afterwards, the person rejoins the party.

Scott A. Greenberg, M.D., a board-certified plastic surgeon in Winter Park, Florida, has been hosting monthly “Botox Happy Hours” in his medical office since the drug was first approved. He feels that these events “are an opportunity to treat a lot of people at one time in a relaxed but professional atmosphere.” He sees no difference in treating one patient or ten. According to Greenberg, “identical standards of medical care are maintained at these gatherings as in a routine daytime office consultation.”

Julianne Clifford, Ph.D., of the FDA's Division of Vaccines and Related Products Applications, disagrees. She warns that “Botox is licensed for marketing and distribution as single-use vials.” In other words, “each vial is intended to be used for a single patient in a single treatment session.” Botox contains no preservative to protect against cross-contamination of patients. Once opened and diluted, Botox must be used within four hours. Treating multiple patients using one vial is expressly prohibited. That prohibition is stated in writing three times: on the carton, on the package insert, and on the vial itself.

Franklin L. DiSpaltro, M.D., 2002 president of the ASAPS, warned that something is lost when patients are mass treated. “One of my concerns,” he said, “is that these parties are a marketing tool. Gathering as many patients as possible trivializes a medical treatment, which could deteriorate over time into a nonprofessional environment.”

It seems that Dr. DiSpaltro's warning has recently become a reality. Botox parties are all the rage in many major cities. Baskets of syringes filled with Botox await party guests, who arrive for a night filled with fun and frown line-erasing injections. A “technician,” not a professional doctor, is available to “assist” party-goers with their injections. Alarming as it may be, Botox in 2006 has become one of the most popular “black-market party drugs,” second only to “date-rape” drugs and crack-cocaine.

The ASAPS also reports that unqualified people are dispensing Botox in salons, gyms, hotel rooms, home-based offices, and other retail establishments. Persons who fail to seek the services of a qualified medical professional for their Botox injections run the risks of improper technique, inappropriate dosages, loss of facial control, infections due to unsanitary conditions, and disease.

According to Dr. Toombs, “Botox is a prescription drug that should (only) be administered by a qualified physician in an appropriate medical setting.” He says that even the most skilled health-care provider can experience complications.

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