Wrinkle-Fighter Takes On Scars Too

November 10, 2006 -- Botox is bext known for its ability to smooth fine lines and wrinkles. Now there's a new use, for reducing disfiguring scars.

Its estimated that more than three million Botox injections were given last year in the U-S.

Botox paralyzes facial muscles, and in that way smooths out wrinkles and "expression lines."

Now doctors are testing it against disfiguring scars.

Tyrena Huggins had that kind of a scar... In fact, it was a gaping hole... After doctors removed skin cancer from her face.

"I felt like I hit rock bottom cause.... When you see a hole in your face its like, oh no. And I started screaming and crying."

Her plastic surgeon, Dr. Anthony Brissett, repaired as much of the damage as he could.

And he used Botox injections to minimize scarring.

Just like a cast immobilizes a broken bone so it can mend, Dr. Brissett says Botox freezes muscles to keep them still around a wound.

((Dr. Anthony Brissett/Baylor College of Medicine: By using Botox, we've allowed that body to heal for 3 months without putting any stretching, or tension, or pulling, on the scar itself.))

A year after Tyrena's surgery, its hard to see where that deep scar was.

The technique is still considered experimental, and doctors say the sooner a patient gets Botox after an injury, the better.

The treatment won't help scars that have already healed, especially those more than a year old.

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