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CNN Sunday Morning
Interview with Susan Dominus
Aired May 05, 2002 - 07:26 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we're going to move from -- I don't know how this works -- but from Shuttleworth to Botox. And to hear the commercials tell it, Botox is the new savior of the wrinkled and crinkled.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow! Worried about losing your wow? Ask your dermatologist or plastic surgeon about Botox Cosmetic or call for the name of a doctor in your area. It's not magic; it's Botox Cosmetic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I don't know. Every time I see that word, I think of Forest Gump. I got a pain in my botox.
PHILLIPS: Wait, I think that was buttocks.
O'BRIEN: Oh, buttocks. Anyway, so go ahead.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, to hear the American Medical Association tell about it, the stuff, Botox, is made from this purely lethal substance. Susan Dominus is a contributor to the "New York Times Magazine." Her article appears in today's edition. Susan is in our Chicago bureau this morning.
Hello, Susan.
SUSAN DOMINUS, "THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE": Good morning.
PHILLIPS: We're not making fun of your article, I promise.
DOMINUS: I'm fine.
PHILLIPS: Good. We just want to get a little laughs going here early in the morning. All right, let's, first of all, talk about your article for a moment. I notice your main character is this Dr. Pat Wexler. Why did you pick Wexler as your main focus in your article?
DOMINUS: Dr. Wexler is really the cosmetic dermatologist to the elite of New York City. I mean I think of her as almost a core physician to that world. You know, she's very close to a lot of her clientele and it includes a lot of very famous celebrities and socialites and politicians even.
PHILLIPS: All right, well, let's talk about this Botox. Why is it the new craze? I know there's a lot of concern about it a while back when it first came out. The FDA wouldn't approve it. Let's talk about this lethal substance that it consists of and how does it work?
DOMINUS: Well, basically, botulism is a substance that causes paralysis if it's not diluted in the extent that it is in Botox. And Botox was FDA approved for other uses years ago to treat eye spasms and things like that. And doctors have just been using it off label, you know, for years, to eliminate wrinkles and only recently was it FDA approved specifically cosmetic purposes.
PHILLIPS: What does -- the success rate?
DOMINUS: I think it's -I mean my sense is it's pretty -- well, what do you mean by success? I think it works on most people. It lasts only about three months though. After three months, the effects of it wear off and you need another shot.
PHILLIPS: Well, dermatologists love that, right? They keep making the bucks.
DOMINUS: Exactly. It's been a real bonanza for a lot of dermatologists.
PHILLIPS: All right, risks involved.
DOMINUS: The risks are -- you know, one thing that happens particularly in doctors who are inexperienced, is you'll get a little bit of an eyelid droop. The -- instead of just paralyzing the muscles that cause wrinkles, it'll sort of paralyze the -- you know, whatever it is that keeps your eyelid perky. And in very rare cases, you -- I've read about instance of vocal cord paralysis or eyeball paralysis, but it seems to be extremely rare, you know, possibly even (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
PHILLIPS: Now, even though it was just approved by the FDA, I was reading here that the "Journal of American Medical Association" calls it the most poisonous substance known. Does this concern you? You spent a lot of time with Dr. Wexler obviously and you met with people that have it done on a regular basis. Still, the American Medical Association is coming out and saying that scary word, "poisonous," "the most poisonous."
DOMINUS: Well, that -- they're referring to botulism itself rather than the derivative that's Botox. You know what I mean. Botox is a very, very, very diluted form. And you know, I actually do feel pretty comfortable that if it's been FDA approved, the risks -- I think I would never, you know, think anyone would try it with somebody who wasn't extremely experienced. But I do think it is, you know, basically safe. I trust the FDA on that.
PHILLIPS: Do you think people will ever be satisfied with how they look? DOMINUS: No, I don't. And I think that there will always be a market for the next new wonder drug that comes out. And I mean, I think that -- I don't think is a new phenomena. I think people have always been obsessed with whatever drug they thought could make them younger. But I'm sure that technology will just keep changing and evolving and creating new markets for itself.
PHILLIPS: You article was pretty intriguing, "The Seductress of Vanity." Susan Dominus, thank you so much.
DOMINUS: Thank you very much.
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