Botched Botox procedures draw attention to lax Oregon rules

PORTLAND, Ore. – Botox is one of the fastest growing cosmetic procedures in the country. In Oregon, rising complaints about botched injections are raising questions about whether Oregon regulations are too lax.

Cindy Flores says after she received Botox and collagen treatments at a "med-spa," she said it looked like someone had punched her in the face.

"I lived with bags, purple green bags under my eyes for nine months," she said.

Flores is not alone. KGW-TV investigators found several cases of botched Botox. Practitioners interviewed by the Portland, Ore. news station say they see many more. People go in to clear up some wrinkles, or remove some frown lines, and they come out with "eyelids drooping, paralysis of half the face," according to esthetic nurse practitioner Lovely Laban.

"Someone who is not licensed or trained in any facial anatomy is able to inject. "

SLOPPY WORK

Laban has six years of post-secondary schooling, including a one-year fellowship in dermatology. She has 10 years of experience administering injections and maintains continued education.

Laban says that expertise is critical.

"If my injection is two millimeters lower than it should be, I could drop a whole cheek and someone would have to wait three to six months for that to wear off," she said.

LOW SUPERVISION

But Lovely's experience, her extensive training and her continued education in facial construction and injections are above and beyond what the law allows. Spas that offer Botox and other injections are popping up all over Oregon. But people performing the injection aren't required to have extensive training.

Almost anyone can inject Botox into your face, says Dr. Richard Rosenfield, MD, a gynecological surgeon.

"Many people with extremely limited training and extremely limited supervision, if any, that are delivering a medication by needle into your face," he said.

No license is needed and training can be as limited as a one-day seminar. A doctor must supervise, but the guidelines don't require the doctor to be in the building at the time of the injection. Some doctors just check charts at the end of the day.

An Oregon Medical Board spokeswoman told KGW in a written statement that doctors must be a supervisor, but the law allows them to delegate the actual work of injecting.

Experts such as Laban say that's not good enough.

"Someone who is not licensed or trained in any facial anatomy is able to inject," she said.

Flores agrees, for obvious reasons.

"I was left with this blue-green lump under my eye," she said.

So why aren't regulations more rigorous in Oregon?

LAWMAKERS SURPRISED BY TREND

Vice-Chairman of the Oregon Senate Committee on Health Care, Senator Jeff Kruse, said the issue of bad oversight and loose regulations came up years ago at the legislature in Salem, but nothing moved forward.

Kruse admits the issue is one that probably snuck up on a lot of people. Botox has gotten a lot more popular in recent years.

"Sometimes it's really hard to keep up with societal trends and I think that's what caught us on this one," he said.

Dr. Rosenfield agrees legislation requiring tighter regulations is needed.

"It's a neurotoxin, this is a paralytic agent so if I inject this into a muscle that muscle is going to stop working," he said.

Senator Kruse says this issue is something that could get an immediate work group, which would allow legislation in the short legislative session next year.

In the meantime, if you get Botox injections, ask the person putting the needle in your face about their medical education and training, and ask to speak with the supervising doctor. If the doctor is not there, experts say you should go somewhere else.