From botulism to HIV, alarming stories about minimally invasive cosmetic treatments have come to light as consumers increasingly turn to unlicensed practitioners, BoF reports.
The dangers of botox or hyaluronic acid injections PHOTO Shutterstock
In March, the Tennessee state health department reported four cases of botulism poisoning, with two patients requiring intensive care.
According to Christine Thomas, the department’s medical director, this was the first time the department had received reports from patients who had recently undergone cosmetic facial injections, and these calls came “within two days”.
The department notified regulators, which led to a multi-state investigation that revealed patients were being injected with counterfeit Botox. By July, cases had been reported in nine states, with 17 people contracting botulism from the fake products.
Authorities are increasingly concerned about the rise of unlicensed practitioners offering cut-price home treatments, raising the alarm about procedures generally considered safe. Dr. Sachin M. Shridharani, a plastic surgeon in New York, said people often underestimate the risks of treatments like Botox and fillers, thinking they are harmless.
He has treated several serious cases of patients seeking help after missed procedures from unqualified sources. In one of the cases, a woman lost part of her lip after tissue death following a lip filler treatment from an unlicensed provider, while another woman suffered skin necrosis on her nose after a filling procedure.
“We are seeing an increase in the number of procedures performed by unqualified or non-clinician doctors”Dr. Shridharani explained. “There are serious side effects, but people are either unaware of them or assume the risks are minimal. They want the treatment so badly that they take the risk and hope for the best.”
While the risks of botched cosmetic surgery have been known to the public for years, the dangers of injections from unqualified sources are only now beginning to gain attention.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, minimally invasive procedures such as Botox and hyaluronic acid treatments grew by 7% last year, with more than 25 million procedures expected to be performed in 2023. Neuromodulator injections alone grew by 9 percent, reaching 9.4 million.
In response to growing demand and the proliferation of medspas offering treatments such as Botox and fillers, US regulators have increased oversight of minimally invasive cosmetic procedures. These treatments, once performed primarily in doctor’s offices, are now more accessible in medspas, contributing to their normalization and popularity among consumers.
However, incidents such as four people contracting HIV after a microneedling procedure at an unlicensed medspa have highlighted the risks. Doctors and health authorities stress that although these procedures are minimally invasive, the dangers should not be underestimated, especially when performed outside of a regulated medical environment.
As demand increases and influencers and celebrities promote these treatments, consumers are being urged to exercise caution and scrutinize practitioner licenses and product authenticity. Allergan, the maker of Botox, has taken steps to address the issue of counterfeit products and issued guidelines for identifying them, which experts hope will better protect consumers.
Similar cases were also reported in Romania. In May 2023, a young woman from Bucharest was arrested after injecting her lips with hyaluronic acid, after which several women were hospitalized with complications, according to Pro TV News. She had no qualifications and was performing the procedures in her apartment. She also caught the attention of doctors after trying to perform lip augmentation herself.
Another woman is under investigation from 2022 for allegedly performing plastic surgery or dermatology procedures, including hyaluronic acid injections, for at least 20 women in an unauthorized location in Bucharest and another in Constanța county.
The problem of illegal Botox and hyaluronic acid injections is also growing in Romania, with these treatments becoming common in many beauty salons, although not always performed by licensed estheticians.
