A Canadian physician has used the wrinkle-fighter Botox for an entirely new purpose – to save an infant from drowning on his own saliva.

The 10-week old Montreal infant, born with a genetic defect that hindered his ability to swallow (CHARGE syndrome), was treated with Botox to help him control the amount of saliva he produced. If left untreated, he would drown on the saliva that seeped into his lungs or suffer bouts of pneumonia.

The physician, Dr. Sam Daniel, injected the nerves controlling the child’s saliva glands with Botox. By doing so, the amount of saliva was reduced and the infant was not required to undergo a surgical tracheotomy to insert a breathing tube.

Although Botox injections have been used to treat excess salivation in other patients, this is monumental due to the age of the infant.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 26th, 2008 at 10:57 am and is filed under Cosmetic Surgery and Society. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.