Is a Cannula Ever Used for Injecting Botox?

Question

During my last Botox injections (with a new injector) I was surprised the needles seemed dull. He had a hard time breaking my skin, and had to push them in. Since he is a well respected doctor I can't even imagine he would even come close to considering reusing needles. I read that sometimes cannulas are used to inject fillers, and the person referred to a cannula as a "blunt needle" so I wondered if cannulas are ever used to inject Botox & perhaps this would explain what I experienced.

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD, FACS · Answer

Botox can be injected using a small 30 gauge needle to minimize pain and bruising with the injections. Xeomin is also a very good alternative to Botox.

Christine Glavey, MD (retired) · Answer

I don't think he was using a cannula.I am guessing that it was a brand new but poorly made needle.

	I know this site is here to help patients but this rant I'm about to have will help me too.Every year, the quality of our medical supplies continue to decrease. I think this has become the norm for most doctors and we are very frustrated about it. We want U.S. or English made needles again, but I can't find them. We don't want to hurt you, of course. The other day, out of frustration, I decided to take a look at my 30 gauge needles (that's what most of us use for Botox injections) under the microscope. My staff and I were upset to see the poor quality..specifically what they call "burrs" or fragments of metal on the end of the needle. Each needle is individually wrapped and sterile, so I can't tell until I start injecting if it's a quality needle or not. Most doctors can tell if it's a poorly made needle straight away and we throw it out and get another one. 

	I would simply ask your doctor if he could please change the needle.

	Regards.

F. Victor Rueckl, MD (in memoriam) · Answer

I would see no reason why Botox would ever be injected with a cannula. Personally I'm not a great fan of injecting fillers with cannulas either, but Botox only needs to be injected very shallowly, so there's no reason to use a cannula. Personally, I use one needle to get the solution out of the vial and then use a new needle for injections. It allows the needles to remain sharper as they are only penetrating the skin, not the rubber seal too. Also, in order to use a cannula, a tiny nick is made in the skin before inserting the cannula - it's not just a dull needle pushed in - that would actually cause much more bruising!

Is a Cannula Ever Used for Injecting Botox?

Answers (3)