April 04, 2011 | Injection Treatments
2 minute read
Botox and Dysport may soon have competition in your surgeon’s office if early trials of a wrinkle freezing treatment see continued success, according to U.S. News.
Though both Botox and Dysport are hugely popular non-surgical options for diminishing many facial lines and wrinkles, new alternatives are often being researched. This treatment, which is called cryoneuromodulation, “appears to have the same clinical efficacy and safety comparable to the existing techniques,” according to Francis Palmer, director of facial plastic surgery at the University of Southern California School of Medicine in Los Angeles, who co-authored the study.
Rather than paralyzing the underlying muscle to smooth out the wrinkle as Botox and Dysport do, this new method freezes specific nerves in the forehead using small needles. This stops the nerve from communicating with the muscle, which causes it to relax. The smoothing effect is almost immediate and lasts about as long as botulinum toxin-based methods—three to four months.
The procedure takes about 15 minutes to complete while the patient is under a local anesthetic. Patients said the level of discomfort was similar to that experienced with Botox.
Though you may want to jump at the chance to try this new wrinkle-fighting treatment, it is still in the early stages of trails and has only been tested on forehead wrinkles. In the meantime, Botox is known to beautifully treat forehead lines, frown lines and crow’s feet.