From Baby Botox to lunchtime tweakments, non-surgical cosmetic treatments have grown in popularity throughout recent years. Medical professionals cite them as being highly effective, often the most sought-after bookings by their clients.

While most appointments lead to the desired results (i.e. a refreshed and rejuvenated appearance, with the patient looking like the best version of themselves) when cases go wrong the outcome can be upsetting – at best. Facial paralysis, excessive bruising, and uneven features are some of the risks that come along when getting injectables; loss of vision and headaches have even been reported in more serious cases when Botox has gone wrong.

At the end of the day it’s not something that should be taken lightly; mishaps can happen, even if the procedure is carried out by an experienced medical professional.

Dubai resident Kerry Winnan had the misfortune of receiving dissatisfactory results after going into a local clinic for a routine dose of lip filler and Botox.

“I knew from the beginning, something wasn’t right,” she tells Bazaar Arabia. “The clinic seemed chaotic and unprofessional.” Notably, her intuition was validated as she found herself under the care of an aesthetician rather than a physician. After the procedure, she quickly noticed visible lumps on her lips and her eyebrows sagging in appearance, instead of the results she was used to.

“One side of my lip was noticeably bigger, and my brows made it look as though I was frowning,” she said.

She also noted that on this occasion the pain and bruising lasted much longer than usual, compared with when she’d had similar treatments in the past. Fortunately, she was able to book in with a plastic surgeon to have the uneven filler dissolved, which can be quite a painful procedure to undergo. As for the Botox she had gotten, she had to wait till the results wore off, which took a few months and the process was far from pleasant. “You feel a bit off, you feel like everyone can notice it,” she said.

“I now exclusively go to a plastic surgeon who understands the anatomy of the face,” she added.  

What Are the Main Issues That Can Arise With Botox?

There are two types of errors that can lead to complications when using Botulinum toxin, better known as Botox: unregulated products within the market and the injector making a mistake, treating the wrong area, or using an incorrect technique.

Botox is the brand name of an FDA-approved injectable treatment derived from the botulinum toxin. Similar products are sold under different names that are safe to use.

There are currently five FDA-approved brands of botulinum toxins products used in cosmetic treatments to treat the same aesthetic concerns and all of them have the same primary active ingredient:

• Botox (Allergan)

• Dysport (Galderma)

• Xeomin (Merz)

• Jeuveau (Evolus)

• Daxxify (Revance)

Adverse reactions can take place if a non-approved or off-label botulinum toxin is used.

“There are some unapproved brands in circulation which can have impurities and those impurities will cause different kinds of reactions or infections. That’s why whenever you go for a treatment at a new clinic you should request to know the brand and origin of the product used. It is a legitimate question so there’s no harm in asking, you have the right to ask,” says Dr. Dany Kayle, a Dubai-based plastic surgeon and a founder of Dr. Kayle Aesthetic Clinic.

Can You Recover From Bad Botox?

Botox can be used to treat a multitude of cosmetic and medical issues, from fine lines to migraines and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders – which means patients who seek out the treatment may not always take risks into consideration.

Imagine suffering from chronic migraines. You walk into a neurologist’s office and, as a last resort, they recommend that you get forehead Botox, a treatment which aims to alleviate the tension in the area and ultimately reduce the pain for a considerable amount of time. You go through with the treatment and wait eagerly for the results to kick in, but after a few days, all you notice is that your right eye is looking rather droopy. As time passes, the drop only gets more noticeable.

This is exactly what happened to a 37-year-old patient that approached Dr. Karim Sayed a Dubai-based doctor who practices at Ouronyx Clinic. “She was almost unable to open her right eye,” Dr Karim tells Bazaar Arabia. The complication was just not an aesthetic one but also caused her vision to be disrupted. Fortunately, he was able to treat her with a corrective procedure, one which involved administering additional Botox, much to the patient’s surprise.

“When addressing cosmetic complications with Botox, it’s crucial to identify the muscle responsible for the opposing effect and subsequently inhibit that muscle as well as locate the muscle that does the opposite of the undesired effect,” Dr Karim explains, who also wrote about the case in a journal article. “Frequently, we resolve the issue by adjusting the injection points with Botox, indicating that it’s not the medication causing the issue, but the precision of the injection site.”

Why Do Injectable Treatments Go Wrong?

“We’ve seen other issues arise after someone gets Botox injections, such as a vastly crooked smile and even being unable to stop drooling. The reason for these adverse side-effects all lies in the muscles,” Dr Karim notes. “It’s the spread of the toxin to an unwanted muscle. In this case, the product leaked into the muscle that lifts the lid, which is very close to the forehead. An incorrect injection point and technique can lead to paralysis of an important muscle that we need in order for a body part to function properly.”