By: eddiecheers

Date: June, 2007

TO BOTOX OR NOT TO BOTOX. Dr Pearl is a well-respected cosmetic surgeon with a specific philosophy on surgery that you can read on his website, which also has lots of information about different procedures. He’s been giving Botox shots to patients for as long as it’s been around (10 years?).

When I called to make my appointment, I had a helpful conversation with Peggy, who handles appointments. She explained how the pricing works (it’s by the unit, and typically you use between 40-50 units: more on that later). When I went to the surgery center, which is in Mountain View, I was welcomed by Peggy and Vicki. They are the first sign that it’s going to be an OK experience: both of them are happy, share a great sense of humor, and do whatever they can to make me feel comfortable – and let’s face it, I’m just having Botox, not a boob job, lipo or face lift (which are done in the same place). Peggy and Vicki both look great. They candidly let me know what they’ve had done, but I won’t tell; you can ask them yourself. Vicki prepped me, although “prep” is a bit of an exaggeration, because all it is is pre-procedure photos where I scrunched up my face to show off my wrinkles, an explanation of what to expect, and the application of a topical local anesthetic.

Dr Pearl has a calm, patient and reassuring manner, which is what I personally like to see in doctors. He didn’t seem to mind telling me that he’d used Botox on himself from the very beginning (can you imagine injecting yourself?) and he’s very candid about what to expect. He said he likes doing Botox because it’s “fun”. He understands the psychology of a new patient having a procedure like this versus him giving Botox to someone on whom he’s done surgery. Didn’t realize it was so obvious that I was nervous. He was also careful to point out that with Botox, everyone’s different and it’s a matter of finding what’s right for me and working with that over time. I think once you start doing Botox you never want to stop because the results are so natural. And it’s possible, for instance, to make minor changes to your face, like raise a brow that might be lower than the other side, or pull up the forehead or even things out.

Dr Pearl examined my face in detail, giving me a running commentary about the state of my skin in general (helpful: I do have a brow that’s lower than the other one) then gave me a hand mirror to explain what he thought I should do and why, e.g. if you do this bit, it affects this part over here, and maybe do a little in the center. He also told me how many units it would take, so I could decide what I wanted to spend and where I wanted it done. In the end I decided on my forehead, center frown lines (two of them), and crows’ feet, for $600. This included a new patient discount of $40. I could have opted to have additional areas done, e.g. the ‘rabbit lines’, which are across the center of the nose - but I thought better stop at $600. It was good to have all the preemptive explanations and to be able to ask all my questions. Dr Pearl explained it would take a few days for the Botox to show its effects, and after about two weeks I would be pretty much how I should be. It lasts anywhere from 4-6 months, although Vicki had had one lot last almost 8 months.

Botox isn’t just one or two shots. It’s multiple small shots into key muscle areas. The needle is quite fine, so with the topical anesthetic I felt only a few pin pricks and they weren’t terrible at all. On my forehead, where I hadn’t thought I would have anything done and no local had been applied, it did hurt briefly, but it’s a pin prick rather than like someone drawing blood.

After it was all done – less than 10 minutes? – Dr Pearl gave me an ice pack for the Botoxed areas. My forehead looked a little swollen and I could see the small needle entry points, but for the most part, I looked and felt pretty normal. After a few minutes of icing, and after I’d had a little chat with Peggy and Vicki and paid my bill, I went off to the grocery store and did my shopping. I felt fine and I looked OK, just slightly red and puffy on my frown line. As I look in the mirror three days later, I can see the difference: less lined and somehow fresher and more open. When I smile or frown, the lines are minimal, but I still have expressions and don’t appear frozen like some of the people you see in magazines. And I have no bruising.

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