Botox Procedures Changed Because Of Hepatitis Scare

Some of the problems tied to the hepatitis exposure investigation at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada are now having an impact on a popular way some try to stay looking young.

Action News reporter Ben Deci explains how it might effect the popular cosmetic procedure Botox.

A woman about to get the wrinkle busting serum Botox had to buy a whole bottle in order to get the treatment.

“A single patient gets a single vial now. Botox is a very expensive product,” explained plastic surgeon Dr. Goesel Anson.

Some bottles of Botox have 100 units in them which is far more than the typical patient needs.

“It would be impossible for someone to take 100 units facially,” said Tsang who works at The Skin Institute.

It used to be that the excess serum would get saved for another patient.

But because of hepatitis C scare and allegations of bad practices in an entirely different type of doctor’s office, the rules have changed.

A State Health Division Bulletin said all physicians are directed not to administer medications from single dose vials to multiple patients.

That comes even though doctors using clean, sterile syringes for every dose cannot cross contaminate patients.

Furthermore, doctors have been drawing multiple doses from single use vials for years.

“It has been standard practice I would say across the country and across the globe,” said Dr. Anson.

Back in Dr. Anson’s procedure room, the patient went through less than half of the Botox she bought.

She says safety has always been a chief concern, but now the appearance of safety counts too.

“This is going to increase costs of medicine in general. We are already seeing it in surgery centers and the hospitals where the move is to use every single product on an individual basis only,” said Dr. Anson.

There is some debate about whether the same patient can reuse Botox vials at a later time.

source: KTNV News