Abstract

Objectives: 1) To identify anatomical asymmetries of the face when they appear naturally or when they are a result of iatrogenic intervention. 2) To understand how and why facial asymmetries occur. 3) To devise a plan of action to realign facial asymmetries with neurotoxins. Introduction: Approximately 35% of the general population have some form of facial asymmetries which can be corrected with injections of neurotoxins. Successful correction of facial asymmetries is predicated on precise injections of the responsible muscle(s) causing the asymmetry. Methods of how to identify and techniques of how to correctly inject asymmetries of the upper and lower face is dependent upon an individual's idiosyncratic functional anatomy. Materials / method: Asymmetries of the brow, lips and cheeks were identified. Botulinum toxin was used to correct the facial asymmetries, whether they appeared naturally or were the result of iatrogenic intervention. Results: After determining the exact muscles responsible for the asymmetries, injections of botulinum toxin were completed and diminished the asymmetries approximately 85% of the time. Conclusion: Understanding functional muscular anatomy of the face will facilitate the correction of facial asymmetries when botulinum toxin is injected precisely in the causative muscle(s).