Botox gone wrong?

Unhappy with your newest cosmetic procedure? There’s hope to correct it, but not without complications, finds Bushra S Khan.
The fine lines around your eyes and mouth were giving you sleepless nights, so you didn’t think twice before rushing to get yourself a shot of botox. But little did you know that what works for others may not necessarily work for you.What’s worse, it’s not making you look half as youthful or pretty as you’d imagined.
Many times, the final results of cosmetic procedures aren’t what you expected, leaving you with a less than flattering face. But can this be corrected? Plastic surgeon Dr Amod Rao says, “You can’t undo permanent fillers. But then again, permanent fillers are not used too much in India. Temporary fillers, which are more commonly used, can be undone.”
However, Dr Amrish Baliarsing, a consultant plastic surgeon begs to differ. “Fillers can’t be undone because they are not concentrated in one place. They go into various tissues and therefore it is impossible to go back to your original state,” he says.
Test of time
So where does that leave you? Do not despair, since temporary fillers only last an average of four months or so. “But if the patient is really displeased with his or her filler, it can be undone after four days of getting the original procedure. The face becomes augmented the very next day due to swelling, and you can’t really make out the actual result till the swelling decreases,” says Dr Rao.
Dr Baliarsing agrees, saying, “You can’t undo a procedure immediately after getting it done. You have to wait until it has settled. In cosmetic surgeries, you have to wait at least three to six months for proper healing before going in for corrective surgery.”
However, in other more dramatic procedures, it’s not a good idea to wait too long to correct it. Quite a few people wish to go back to their original breast size after getting them surgically enhanced. But doing so after a long period of time is a bad idea as removing the implants leaves two empty sacs where the implants used to be, especially if the implants are sizeable.
The moral of the story? Many people rush into getting cosmetic surgeries with half-baked knowledge and without thinking about the ramifications. Although you can undo a procedure or go for corrective surgery if the original one goes wrong, you must remember that cosmetic surgeries are artificial and you can’t have a trial and error approach towards them. It is better to be well-informed and thoroughly aware about the perils before you jump head first into it.