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To remove scars

Researchers randomly assigned 31 patients with wounds to the forehead to receive either Botox or a placebo injection right after the wounds were closed. The lesions were stitched using identical techniques and similar suture thread.

The researchers took photographs right after each wound was closed, a week later and six months after that. The study appears in the August issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Two facial surgeons unconnected with the study assessed the photographs. They rated the final cosmetic outcomes on a 10-point scale. The average rating for the Botox group was 8.9, and for the placebo group, 7.2, a highly significant difference.

Botox, or Botulinum toxin, is probably not needed for every facial wound.

``This applies mainly to larger excisions,'' said Dr. Holger G. Gassner, the lead author of the study.

The authors recognise that a one-year follow-up may produce different results. ``For years we've been trying to reduce the effect of muscle pull on scarring,'' Gassner said. ``Now we can eliminate it.''

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