Psychosocial aspects of botox in aesthetic surgery.

Author: Singh GC, Hankins MC, Dulku A, Kelly MB

Author affiliation: Department of Craniofacial and Plastic Surgery, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, 369 Fulham Road, London, SW10 9NH, UK.

Publication date & source: 2006.01, Aesthetic Plast Surg., 30(1):71-6.

BACKGROUND: The human preoccupation of experimenting with potentially toxic substances at sublethal doses to enhance beauty spans the ages. The Botox injection is the fastest growing cosmetic procedure, and its physiologic safety profile is considered to be excellent. The psychosocial consequences of Botox have been largely ignored in the literature. METHODS: This cross-sectional study investigated the psychosocial issues that can arise as either an antecedent to the treatment or a consequence of it. RESULTS: Significant differences between clients and control subjects were observed in the four major areas of psychosocial functioning implicated in this study: (a) distress arising from the procedure (anxiety/phobia), (b) worry about the facial changes after the procedure, (c) expectations, involving the discrepancy between expected and actual outcomes of treatment; and (d) dependence, involving the desire for repetitive administration. CONCLUSIONS: The impact of Botox on the psychosocial functioning of individuals was investigated in this study from a psychosocial and clinical perspective in an effort to pave the way for the formulation of national standardized guidelines for the use of Botox. This study empowers the clinician to understand the basis for the relative contraindications of Botox, which are largely psychological in nature, and thus to ensure its administration in a safe and responsible manner.

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