Cosmetic Surgery Blog

First off, please please, PLEASE do not get injected with anything in the back of a salon, mall spa, someone’s home, or any other back alley operation by some unknown “doctor” or physician’s assistant. I can’t even tell you how many people I know of who have done this (mostly silicone). The cost should truly not be a determining factor unless one plastic surgeon is charging you twice as much as the other and they are equally skilled. But slinking off to your friendly neighborhood cosmetic chop-shop is not a good environment for you to be getting injected with unknown substances no matter how cheap it is.

Two California women, Tiffany Barton and Katrina Kalanick, chose to have injections of an unknown, white substance which they though to be collagen in a Clovis, CA salon they often frequented. Tiffany decided on lip injections and Katrina chose an injection in the glabella—the price: $100. Tempting yes, but worth it? No. In hindsight I am sure that they probably saw the signs, but the excitement of looking good for less has driven more women into a downward spiral of revision procedures than I can count.

The two women commented that the doctor seemed legitimate and presented himself very professionally. Most con-artists often do. Unfortunately for these two ladies, this “professional” has caused them [hopefully only temporary] disfigurement. What’s worse is that Katrina was getting married a week later.

The alleged disfigurer, Mario Nieves Perez was arrested in a sting operation brought on by the complaints of numerous local women. Chief Jerry Dyer of the Fresno Police Department advised Perez is being charged with 29 felony counts, including his own sister’s! However Perez did not show up for his court date, and is feared to have fled back to Mexico.

Please don’t let this happen to you. Actually, I take that back. It doesn’t just happen to you. You have to go out and actively seek it. You do have a part in it. I am sorry if anyone thinks I am being callous, but it is true. There are a lot of shady characters in the world today, at the market trying to start a conversation, in the parking lot asking for your “help”, calling the elderly on the phone targeting their retirement funds. Ignorance is not bliss. Don’t allow yourself to become a victim in any setting. Would you go to the local Laundromat to do your banking? Would you go to the burly mechanic’s down the street to get a massage? Would you go to a salon to get stitches or a mammogram? Then why would you go there to get injected with anything? Use common sense when considering medical procedures.

Tips To Stay Safe

• Always verify the medical professional’s credentials and medical license. Although physician’s assistants and nurses often inject Botox and collagen, Restylane, etc. with a supervising medical doctor on the premises, I prefer using the doctor himself. You can verify your doctor’s medical license and query for disciplinary actions and complaints on your state’s medical licensing website.
• Always have your procedure performed in a medical setting. Although I have been to “Botox Parties” that were held by various doctors of mine, they were still held in-office, after hours. A salon is not the place to be injected.
• Research the procedure you are getting beforehand. Know what to look for, know what the label should look like. Watch them break the seal on single use syringes of product. Although Botox comes in a vial that holds 10 units of product, and must be reconstituted before you ever even get there, single use syringes are used. Often times, when you only get one area treated, the bottle will already be opened and in use. This is normal. You do not get your own bottle of Botox unless you plan on using it all.
• Restylane, Collagen are single use, and come with a batch ID sticker that is removed from the syringe and placed in your patient file. This way if any adverse reactions occur, the batch number can be identified. Even Botox has a batch ID on the side of the bottle. It will be written down in your chart.
• If it is too good to be true, it probably is. If you are getting your glabella treated with “Botox” for $50, walk away. That doesn’t even cover the cost of the product.
• Word of Mouth is a great tool. Although word of mouth seems to work for the back-alley injectors as well. It is how they operate. Stick with doctors, or physician’s assistants with medical doctors supervising them.
• Know how long your injector has been using a particular product. It‘s not just the product, but also the skill of the injector.
• First time to an office you haven’t heard of? Stick together, or tell someone where you are going. Maybe bring a friend with you. Be sure to remember all of the details of your visit, your doctor, etc.

I know it is sad that we even have to do this. Buddy systems which were once for blind dates and walking through dark parking garages are now for healthcare—both elective and necessary. Some may say I am being overly cautious but I have also heard firsthand reports of way too many illegitimate procedures being performed. I have also been a watchdog for the FDA for a few illegal silicone injection operations. Sadly however, in some instances several years ago, local law enforcement agencies didn’t seem to care. I would report some to the State Medical Licensing office but was told that since the individuals were not doctors, they had no jurisdiction. The FDA advised they didn’t have a say in some instances either depending upon the situation. And several local news agencies didn’t seem to care as well. I would be willing to bet now though that I would get a response from all three in any case. I know what’s lurking out there, and I don’t even know the half it. That’s the scary part.