Researchers have found that treating a facial wound early on with botulinum toxin (BOTOX) can improve the appearance of the resulting scar.
The process could work both on new wounds and on unsightly older scars, if the scar is surgically removed and botulinum toxin is injected into the newly created wound area.
Facial scars can interfere with eye closure, talking and eating, and can also have damaging psychological impact.
Paralyzing the Wound Area
The botulinum toxin paralyzes the region around the wound, preventing muscle movement from wrinkling the wound site. This creates a flat surface for healing and leaves a smoother final scar. Current techniques to reduce the effects of muscle tension on a wound include special stitches and local flaps that bring additional skin into the wound area.
Rated on a Scale of 0 to 10
More than 30 patients with forehead wounds, a frequent site of facial scarring, were treated either with botulinum toxin or with saline, a harmless substance used for comparison. After the wounds healed, two experienced facial plastic surgeons rated the results on a scale of 0 to 10 without knowing which patient received which treatment. The median score for wounds injected with botulinum toxin was 8.9, while the median score was 7.1 for those injected with saline.
The Next Step
The next step in the research will be to conduct a trial with hundreds of patients to determine appropriate dosage, and to discover whether the injections are useful for better healing scars elsewhere on the body, such as heart surgery wounds.