Crooked smile after Botox for crows feet and forehead. It has been 17days since the procedure.

Question

I had 6 units on each eye and 40 in my entire forehead. The muscles on my left side of the face are much weaker than right and when i talk my left side of the mouth is relaxed which makes it look like i had a minor stroke. i went back to see the doctor who the explained to me that only one side of the crows feet was effected and suggested to touch up the other one to even it out or do heat treatment for a couple of weeks to stimulate muscles on the left. Whats should i do?

Lawrence Osman, MD · Answer

It is possible that the muscles that lift the corners of the mouth when smiling may have been inadvertently affected if one of the drops of Botox was placed too low below the eye.  When you smile, is it even?  It this is the case, a small amount of Botox could theoretically be placed in the non-affected side to partially paralyze it, too.  However, if you do nothing, the effects will likely wear off soon since the dose was likely small.  6 units around each crows foot is not a large dose.

Cody A. Koch, MD, PhD · Answer

ana1984,I am sorry to hear about your experience with Botox.  The most likely scenario, without seeing photos or examining you, is that the person who injected the Botox placed the product too deep and the zygomaticus major muscle was affected.  While you could ask the physician who performed your injections to try and inject the other side similarly I believe this will be unpredictable and hard to match to the affected side.  While inconvenient and frustrating for you, I would recommend just letting the Botox wear off.  Unfortunately Botox cannot be reversed but the effects will dissipate with time.  Cody Koch

Crooked smile after Botox for crows feet and forehead. It has been 17days since the procedure.

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Crooked smile after Botox for crows feet and forehead. It has been 17days since the procedure.

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Everything you need to know about Botox

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