An exquisitely detailed body painting project can help plastic surgeons understand how underlying muscles contribute to facial lines and wrinkles, along with their effective treatment using botulinum toxin injection, according to a paper in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery—Global Open®, the official open-access medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

The illustrated article by Ricardo Frota Boggio, MD, PhD, of Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil, presents and describes this approach to studying the anatomy and function of the facial muscles.

Dr. Boggio said, "This innovative method, in a playful and highly didactic manner, presents great potential as a teaching tool in the application of botulinum toxin A."
Art Project Helps Show Facial Muscles Cause Wrinkles

Botulinum toxin A is an effective treatment for facial lines and wrinkles; it works by temporarily inactivating the contributing underlying muscles. In Dr. Boggio's view, lack of understanding of the applied anatomy of the facial muscles and how they generate hyperkinetic wrinkles is a major shortcoming of current approaches to teaching botulin toxin injection.

The artful anatomy lesson employed a 37-year-old female model with typical hyperkinetic facial wrinkles, such as forehead lines, crow's feet around the eyes and lines around the mouth. Wrinkles in these and other areas are called by repetitive action of the facial muscles.
Read more at American Society of Plastic Surgeons >>