Botox, Juvederm, Dysport, Restylane, and Radiesse are some of the many products that are fairly easy to inject in an office setting to help reduce wrinkles, make deep folds look better, and improve your overall appearance. This eliminates a trip to the operating room. With all of the products available, you may wonder, who should you trust to give you these injections?
It depends on what state in the US or what country you may live in, but many injectables are given by nurses and doctors. Even among doctors, there are many different specialties. However, you should get an injection from someone you trust and who can also deal with the complications that may arise from these injectables.
In the US, there are thecore 4 specialties that have the educational and formal training during the post-medical school years to give these injections. These specialties are Plastic Surgery, Facial Plastic Surgery, Dermatology, and Oculoplastic Surgery. Even if these specialists choose not to do aesthetic surgery, they still undergo training as part of their overall medical education to perform cosmetic procedures. Also, Continuing Medical Education requirements are still in place, meaning that continued training, seminars, conferences, and lectures are required to maintain board certification in each of these 4 specialties.
In the US, if you are a doctor of a different specialty, you will not get this training in your post- medical school training. You will be forced to take a weekend course, a week long course, or some other alternative education to learn about cosmetic injectables.
Nursesare allowed to perform cosmetic injectables under the supervision of a doctor. This supervision varies widely, and can mean anything from the doctor being physically present, to the doctor being nearby, to the doctor being available by phone, and to whatever the nurse and doctor agreed upon. This would explain why some nurses seem to be able to perform injectables with no doctor visible or present during the procedure.
Many casual injectors outside of the "core 4" specialties are unaware of the methods and ways to avoid complications, reduce risk, and increase patient satisfaction and comfort.
There are subtle procedures within the realm of Botox and Juvederm, such as injecting into the eyebrow areas to achieve an arch, reducing neck muscle strength, getting just the right spot to reduce migraine headache pain, and other more rare and difficult procedures that require more expertise and knowledge to deliver correctly and efficiently.
There is always the issue of price. Yes, Plastic Surgeons are probably going to charge more than a nurse for the same cosmetic injectable, because they are board-certified. You are not necessarily paying just for the supplies and the cost of the cosmetic injectable, but you are paying for expertise and knowledge of how to fix things if they are not quite perfect. Working with a doctor who is well-versed in cosmetic injectables may be more rewarding for you, as the person who has to live with the results.
And of course, there is the old saying- "You Get What You Pay For".
