Pat Gaudette

The December issue of O Magazine contained a full page ad for Dysport, a prescription only “injection to temporarily improve the look of moderate to severe frown lines between the eyebrows (glabellar lines) in adults less than 65 years of age.” One half of the entire page shows the almost life-size, flawlessly unlined, face of a young blonde model (whose photo may or may not have been enhanced by photo editing — a common practice in the advertising world). 

The ad also has two 1-1/4 inch x 3/4 inch before and after photos of a “Maximum Frown” — not of the same model since the eyes and brows are different. The “after” photo shows the subject’s attempt to frown on “Day 14″ after “50 units” have been injected into the frown area (I would be curious how she looks on days 1-13 and as the injection begins losing effect). It appears the woman couldn’t have frowned if her life depended on it, and from the wording in the four pages of fine print that accompany the ad, in some cases, it could.

I’m not going to quote all four pages of fine print. The following was enough for me. The bolding is as it appears in the magazine ad; the red highlighting is mine:

“DYSPORT may cause serious side effects that can be life threatening. Call your doctor or get medical help right away if you have any of these problems after treatment with DYSPORT:

Problems swallowing, speaking, or breathing. These problems can happen hours to weeks after an injection of DYSPORT usually because the muscles that you use to breathe and swallow can become weak after the injection. Death can happen as a complication if you have severe problems with swallowing or breathing after treatment with DYSPORT.

People with certain breathing problems may need to use muscles in their neck to help them breathe. These patients may be at a greater risk for serious breathing problems with DYSPORT.

Swallowing problems may last for several weeks. People who can not swallow well may need a breathing tube to receive food and water. If swallowing problems are severe, food or liquids may go into your lungs. People who already have swallowing or breathing problems before receiving DYSPORT have the highest risk of getting these problems.

Spread of toxin effects. In some cases, the effect of botulinum toxin may affect areas of the body away from the injection site and cause symptoms of a serious condition called botulism. The symptoms of botulism include:

• loss of strength and muscle weakness all over the body
• double vision
• blurred vision and drooping eyelids
• hoarseness or change or loss of voice (dysphonia)
• trouble saying words clearly (dysarthria)
• loss of bladder control
• trouble breathing
• trouble swallowing

These symptoms can happen hours to weeks after you receive an injection of DYSPORT.

These problems could make it unsafe for you to drive a car or do other dangerous activities. See ‘What should I avoid while receiving DYSPORT?’ “

Why not just color your hair blue and purple? People will focus on the hair, not the frown lines. Weird hair seems more socially acceptable than a breathing tube, loss of bladder control… or death. At least it is in my social circle.

Quoting further; again, the red highlighting is mine:

“DYSPORT is a prescription medicine that is injected into muscles and used:

to treat the abnormal head position and neck pain that happens with cervical dystonia (CD) in adults

to improve the look of moderate to severe frown lines between the eyebrows (glabellar lines) in adults younger than 65 years of age for a short period of time (temporary)

CD is caused by muscle spasms in the neck. These spasms cause abnormal position of the head and often neck pain. After DYSPORT is injected into muscles, those muscles are weakened for up to 12 to 16 weeks or longer. This may help lessen your symptoms.

Frown lines (wrinkles) happen because the muscles that control facial expression are used often (muscle tightening over and over). After DYSPORT is injected into the muscles that control facial expression, the medicine stops the tightening of these muscles for up to 4 months.”

This is an expensive and potentially dangerous (deadly?), temporary “fix” for frown lines.  I’d be curious what a user does on their 65th birthday when they’re too old to keep using this product and their frown lines return. Assuming they live that long.