title: Neurotoxin waste from drawing product through the vial stopper.
abstract: Botulinum toxin injection is the most common cosmetic surgery procedure in the world. Current technique requires reconstitution that can produce product waste resulting in significant loss of profit as well as inaccuracy of actual units injected. By random sampling of "used empty" vials, it was shown that an average of 5 units are potentially wasted by the conventional methods of drawing up the product with a needle through the stopper of an inverted vial. Depending on the pricing and dilution of the product, this can result in a profit loss of $50 to $60 per vial, which can quickly add up to tens of thousands of dollars in a busy practice. Removing the stopper, tilting the vial, and aspirating the last residual with a small gauge needle can result in significant savings. Finally, this residual was calculated at a five-percent loss, which results in an inaccuracy of actual units delivered.
authors.affiliation: Private Practice, Cosmetic Facial Surgery; Assistant Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia.
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Niamtu