Dysport® Injections in Danville, CA
Dysport Injections in Danville, CA
Dysport® (abobotulinumtoxinA) is a prescription botulinum toxin type A injection FDA-approved in the U.S. for temporary improvement of moderate to severe glabellar frown lines in adults under 65. It temporarily reduces activity in the muscles that create those lines. Dysport units are specific to Dysport and cannot be compared directly with BOTOX, Jeuveau or other botulinum toxin units.
Dysport is a prescription injection. In the United States it is approved for adults under 65, to soften the vertical frown lines between the eyebrows when those lines are moderate to severe. It works by quietening the muscles that make those lines. Dysport is measured in its own units, and those units cannot be compared with Botox or Jeuveau units. Ten units of one is not ten units of another.
Dysport: the essentials
The short version
abobotulinumtoxinA
Prescription botulinum toxin type A neuromodulator.
A prescription medicine that quietens a muscle for a while. It is injected.
Temporary improvement in moderate to severe glabellar lines associated with procerus and corrugator activity in adults under 65.
Softening the vertical frown lines between the eyebrows, in adults under 65, when those lines are moderate to severe.
50 Dysport Units divided among five injection sites according to U.S. prescribing information. Units are product-specific.
50 Dysport units, split between five spots, according to the official United States instructions. These units only mean anything for Dysport.
U.S. prescribing information states retreatment should be no more frequent than every three months for glabellar lines.
The official instructions say no more often than every three months for the frown lines.
Boxed warning for distant spread of toxin effect, including potentially life-threatening swallowing or breathing difficulty.
It carries the strongest warning the American regulator gives. In rare cases the effect spreads beyond where it was injected, and that can cause life threatening trouble with swallowing or breathing.
What is Dysport?
What is Dysport?
Dysport is abobotulinumtoxinA, a prescription neuromodulator that temporarily reduces acetylcholine release at the neuromuscular junction and weakens targeted muscle contraction.
Dysport is a prescription medicine that blocks the chemical message a nerve uses to tell a muscle to squeeze. The muscle it is injected into stops squeezing as hard, for a while.
For cosmetic use in the U.S., the approved indication is moderate to severe glabellar frown lines in adults under 65.
For cosmetic use in the United States, it is approved for one thing: the moderate to severe frown lines between the eyebrows, in adults under 65.
How does Dysport soften frown lines?
How does it soften frown lines?
Dysport reduces contraction of the corrugator and procerus muscles that pull the brows inward and downward. As those muscles relax temporarily, the overlying glabellar lines appear softer.
Two small muscles pull your eyebrows in and down when you frown, and that is what creases the skin between them. Dysport quietens those muscles, so the creases on top of them look softer.
It does not add volume and should not be described as a filler.
It does not add any volume. It is not a filler.
Diagram showing corrugator and procerus muscles involved in glabellar frown lines
A diagram showing the small muscles between the eyebrows that create frown lines.
Who may be a good candidate for Dysport?
Who is it likely to suit?
Adults under 65 with moderate to severe glabellar lines caused by muscle activity may be candidates after medical and facial assessment.
Adults under 65 whose frown lines are moderate to severe and are caused by the muscles moving, after we have looked at your face and your medical history.
- Tell the clinician about any botulinum toxin product received recently.
- Tell the clinician about neuromuscular disorders, swallowing/breathing problems and medications that affect neuromuscular transmission.
- Injection should be avoided at sites with active infection.
- Tell us if you have had any injection of this kind recently.
- Tell us about any condition affecting your muscles or nerves, any trouble swallowing or breathing, and every medicine you take.
- Nothing is injected through skin that is currently infected.
How quickly does Dysport work and how long does it last?
How fast does it work, and how long does it last?
Clinical studies and manufacturer materials report that some patients notice improvement within the first few days. Effect is temporary; the prescribing information notes clinical effect may last up to about four months, while individual response varies.
Some people notice a change within the first few days. It wears off. The official information says the effect may last up to about four months for the frown lines, but this varies from person to person.
Some participants in the manufacturer’s studies reported a longer response. The prescribing information is what should guide expectations, and no specific duration should be promised.
Some people in the maker’s studies said theirs lasted longer than that. What we go by is the official prescribing information, and nobody should promise you a particular number of months.
What are the risks and side effects of Dysport?
What are the risks and side effects?
Common reactions in glabellar-line trials included headache and injection-site symptoms, among others. Eyelid swelling or droop can occur. Dysport also has a boxed warning for distant spread of toxin effect.
In the frown line studies the common ones were headache, and soreness or a reaction where the needle went in. The eyelid can swell or droop. Dysport also carries the strongest warning the American regulator gives, about the effect spreading beyond where it was injected.
Seek urgent medical care for significant swallowing, speech or breathing problems, generalized weakness, double vision or other concerning systemic symptoms.
Get urgent medical help for real difficulty swallowing, speaking or breathing, for weakness all over, for double vision, or for anything else that feels seriously wrong.
- Injection-site pain, reaction or bruising.
- Headache or temporary eyelid changes.
- Rare systemic toxin effects with swallowing, speaking or breathing problems.
- Soreness, a reaction, or a bruise where the needle went in.
- A headache, or a temporary change in the eyelid.
- Rarely, effects further afield, with trouble swallowing, speaking or breathing.
Dysport injection treatment setup at a dermatology practice
A Dysport injection being prepared at a skin clinic.
How is Dysport different from BOTOX Cosmetic?
How is it different from Botox?
They are different botulinum toxin type A medicines with different formulations, unit systems and FDA-approved cosmetic indications. Their units are not interchangeable.
They are two different medicines of the same type. They are made differently, measured differently, and approved for different things. Their units cannot be swapped.
| Feature | Dysport | BOTOX Cosmetic |
|---|---|---|
| Active ingredient | abobotulinumtoxinA | onabotulinumtoxinA |
| Current U.S. cosmetic label | Moderate to severe glabellar lines in adults <65 | Includes glabellar lines, forehead lines, lateral canthal lines and platysma bands in adults |
| Units | Product-specific; not interchangeable | Product-specific; not interchangeable |
Dysport Approved here for the frown lines between the eyebrows, in adults under 65. Measured in its own units.
Botox Cosmetic Approved here for the frown lines, the forehead lines, the lines at the outer corners of the eyes, and the cords on the neck, in adults. Measured in its own units.
The two sets of units mean different things and cannot be converted.
What are alternatives to Dysport?
What else could I have instead?
Other neuromodulators include BOTOX Cosmetic and Jeuveau. For static lines, volume loss or skin texture, dermal fillers and resurfacing/energy treatments may address a different component of the concern.
There are other medicines of the same type, Botox Cosmetic and Jeuveau. And if the line is there when your face is still, or is caused by lost fullness or rough skin texture, then filler, resurfacing or an energy treatment may be dealing with a different part of the problem.
Illustrative result
What a result can look like
Illustration, not a patient photograph. Before and after Dysport treatment for glabellar frown lines. It shows the kind of change this treatment is intended to produce. Individual results vary, and no outcome is guaranteed. Photographs of real patients are published only with written consent.
This is a drawing, not a photo of a patient. It shows a before and after for Dysport treating the frown lines between the eyebrows, to give you an idea of the kind of change it aims at. Results are different for everyone, and nothing is guaranteed. We only publish photos of real patients with their written permission.
Questions patients ask
Is Dysport a filler?
Is Dysport a filler?
No. Dysport is a botulinum toxin neuromodulator that temporarily reduces muscle contraction. It does not add volume.
No. It quietens a muscle for a while. It does not add any volume.
What is Dysport FDA-approved to treat cosmetically?
What is it approved for?
In the U.S., Dysport is approved for temporary improvement of moderate to severe glabellar frown lines in adults under 65.
In the United States, for temporarily improving moderate to severe frown lines between the eyebrows, in adults under 65.
How fast does Dysport work?
How fast does it work?
Some patients notice improvement within the first few days, but individual onset varies and the result should be assessed after it has had time to develop.
Some people notice a change within a few days, but it varies. Judge it once it has had time to come on fully.
How long does Dysport last?
How long does it last?
The prescribing information notes that clinical effect may last up to about four months for glabellar lines, although duration varies and should not be guaranteed.
The official information says the effect may last up to about four months for the frown lines. It varies from person to person, and nobody should guarantee you a number.
Are Dysport units the same as BOTOX units?
Are Dysport units the same as Botox units?
No. Dysport units are specific to Dysport and cannot be directly converted or compared with units of another botulinum toxin product.
No. Dysport units only mean something for Dysport. You cannot convert them into units of any other product, or compare the numbers.
Can Dysport be used on the forehead or crow’s-feet?
Can it be used elsewhere on my face?
Physicians may use Dysport off-label in other areas based on clinical judgment, but those uses are not part of the current U.S. cosmetic indication and should be clearly labeled off-label if discussed.
Doctors do sometimes use Dysport in other areas, using their own judgement. That is called off label use, and it is legal and common in medicine. But those areas are not part of what Dysport is officially approved for here, and you should be told plainly when that is the case.
Talk it through with a physician first.
Every plan starts with an assessment of your skin, your anatomy and what you actually want to change.
This page is general health information, not medical advice. It cannot tell you whether a treatment is right for you. Approved uses, risks and results differ from person to person, and product labelling changes. Ask us at Dermatology and Laser Centre about your own situation, or make an appointment, and seek urgent care for any serious symptom.
