Women are injecting less wrinkle-fighting Botox, according to disputed new statistics from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. (For further coverage, see the story “Are Botox injections really dropping?,” which recasts much of the information in this blog post, with some new analysis.)
Botox injections for women totaled 2.4 million last year, down 15 percent from 2006, the medical society said. The report did not explain the decline.
Irvine-based Allergan, which makes Botox, says it sees no such decline. It reported $1.2 billion in revenues from Botox last year, a 23 percent increase.
Even the plastic surgery society’s own statistics cited a increasing numbers of Botox injections by its members — an average of 352 per doctor last year, up 92 percent from 2006. That would imply that the overall decline in doctors’ injections of Botox last year, if true, would reflect lower use by dermatologists and others, perhaps as medical spas and others increased their rate of Botox injections.
Allergan spokeswoman Leslie Bryant suggested that the statistics might have been based on too few survey responses. For the plastic surgeon group’s survey, “unlike most surveys – it does not disclose the response rate,” she stated.
Spokeswoman Adeena Babbitt at the medical society said data was collected from surveys sent to all 12,000 members of boards of plastic surgery, dermatology and otolaryngology. The surveys are handled by an outside contractor and the response rate is not available, she said.
The margin of error is plus or minus 3.25 percent, the group said.
In La Jolla, plastic surgeon Dr. Robert Singer, a past president of the surgeons society, defended the validity of the survey, noting that it has been conducted annually since 1997.
A combination of factors may have led to a 2007 decline in Botox use among women, Singer said:
- Patients opt for plastic surgery instead of Botox because it’s more permanent.
- Women use dermal fillers instead of just Botox to combat wrinkles.
“People are being educated by the media that they have other options in addition to Botox,” he said.
In Orange County, several dermatologists reported seeing no decline in Botox use.
My Botox practice continues to increase by 15 percent from 2006 to 2007 to 2008,” said Dr. Dore Gilbert of Newport Beach “We get great results with minimal side affects (bruising). I have not had any systemic complaints except for an occasional headache.”
Dr. Renee Cobos of Fullerton said her clientele’s demand for Botox is stable. “Patients that have gotten Botox in the past, and like the way that it makes them look and feel, continue to have it injected,” she said.
In recent weeks, more patients have discussed their desire to have injections by a board-certified physician, Cobos said. She said that seems to be related to press coverage of the Food and Drug Administration’s review of safety labeling for Botox. The FDA action came in response to data showing that a number of patients died after injections of a stronger type of Botox, which is used to treat illnesses such as muscle spasms.
Plastic surgeon Dr. Milind Ambe of Newport Beach reported a “significant increase” in Botox use last year compared to 2006.
He suggested that economic problems might explain an overall decrease. Patients switching to dermal fillers is an unlikely explanation, he said, since they’re used to treat different areas than Botox.
Plastic surgeon Dr. Donald Altman of Irvine Regional Medical Center said the numbers of Botox injections were “almost identical” in 2006 and 2007 at his practice. “I definitely sense however, that the numbers of patients returning for injections may be decreasing this year,” he added.
The society’s survey said men’s relatively infrequent injections of Botox increased to 330,000, up 10 percent.
It said overall Botox use was 2.8 million last year, down 13 percent. Botox use peaked at 3.2 million in 2006 after about a decade of growth, the report said.
However, the report said Botox injections continue to be the most frequently performed procedure.
After compiling the data, the group issued a press release and a fuller PDF file on the statistics.
(This post was updated Wednesday morning to include comments from Allergan, local doctors, and the surgeons society spokeswoman. It was updated again Wednesday afternoon with Singer’s comments. It was updated on Thursday to add more doctors’ comments.)
