The Physician Coalition for Injectable Safety has alerted the media to the dangers of cheaper, unbranded, unapproved and counterfeit cosmetic injectables. “The growing acceptance of cosmetic injections for their good outcomes and convenience in treatment comes with consumer cautions,” says Coalition leader, plastic surgeon Jeffrey Kenkel, MD, of Dallas.  “Disreputable injectors, and counterfeit, imported or unapproved injectables present the greatest risk to a patient’s apprearance, and ultimately to one’s health.”

Between 2004 and July 2008 the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations’s office of Criminal Investigations entered into 210 investigations that led to 68 arrests and 29 convictions of healthcare professionals who purposely injected an unapproved, cheaper substitute toxin fo FDA-approved Botox Cosmetic.  Press releases sent to the media encoutage consumers to ask specifically about the injector’s qualifications and the brand name of the injectable being recommended for them.  It also encorages patients who suspect an injector is not following proper procedures to report the person to the FDA.  For more information, see www.injectablesafety.org.