Botox Minimizes Facial Scarring

A small study revealed that botox injections can help in healing of facial wounds without much scarring.

Dr. David Sherris, professor and chair of the department of otolaryngology at the University at Buffalo, conducted this study with his team. He said ” This is the first medication found to minimize scarring." This study is published in the August issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

The study was conducted on 31 patients suffering from either wounds on the forehead or had had surgery to remove skin cancers from the forehead. This area is predominantly susceptible to scarring. They were given either an injection of botox or saline within 24 hours of wound closure.

Dr. Sherris said: "The reason this works is because wide scars are the result of the local muscles pulling the wound apart during the healing phase.
"Botunlinum toxin (botox) temporarily weakens the surrounding muscles, thereby lessening the pull on the wound during the acute healing phase of the first two to four months."

Two plastic surgeons, not connected to this project, independently assessed the reduced levels of scarring. Photographs were taken of the patients after the administration of botox and then again six months later. The level of scarring was rated on 1 – 10 basis by these surgeons. A rating of 8.9 was given to patients treated with botox while 7.1 was the score of patients treated with saline.