Women suffer rare nerve disease symptoms after Botox injections by ‘fake doctor’
As many as 15 women have been hospitalised in Bulgaria with symptoms of botulism caused by botched Botox injections.
Patients began flooding the emergency department of Pirogov Hospital in Sofia with complaints of drooping eyelids and eyebrows, blurred vision and difficulty breathing.
One patient has reportedly lost vision in one of her eyes after a visit to a ‘fake’ doctor in the capital.
All were clients of the same clinic where they had received shots of Botox and filler in their face.
Dr Arina Goodz has been identified by Bulgarian press as the dermatologistbehind the butchered procedure.
On her Instagram and TikTok accounts – which have all been deleted in the last 24 hours – she presents herself as a doctor working at a clinic in Sofia.
But when Metro checked the register of the Bulgarian Medical Association, there is no doctor practicing under that name.
Multiple posts on her social media offered promotions of up to 50%, taking the price of a single Botox jab to as low as 130 LEV (£55).
One reads: ‘Lip augmentation is a safe procedure with hyaluronic acid, which moisturises and increases the volume of the lips. A beautiful smile is just one step away from you!’.
The technique Dr Goodz claims to use promises ‘Russian doll like’ pout to customers.
The latest advertisement during Christmas offers a half-off discount of all injectables, it appears.
What are the symptoms of botulism?
The medicine in Botox injections is made from the same toxin that causes a type of food poisoning called botulism, which is fatal in five to 10% of cases.
They attack the nervous system and cause paralysis.
Most people will make a full recovery with treatment, but the paralysis can spread to the muscles that control breathing if it is not treated quickly.
Depending on the exact type of botulism, some people initially have symptoms such as feeling sick, vomiting, stomach cramps, diarrhoea or constipation.
Symptoms can include:
- drooping eyelids
- blurred or double vision
- facial muscle weakness
- difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
- slurred speech
- breathing difficulties
This is when a number of suspected victims are likely to have contacted Dr Goodz for treatments.
Bulgarian health authorities launched their investigation last week after a number of women sought medical help.
Doctors at Pirogov Hospital said it is likely that they were likely injected with unregulated toxin in the lips, cheekbones and eyelids.
Neli Georgieva, deputy chairperson of the Aesthetic Medicine Patients Association, said about their symptoms to BNT News: ‘Their problems include blurred and double vision. One woman cannot even see with one eye.
‘They have neurological problems, muscle pain, extreme fatigue, they can’t drive or go to work, and they have speech problems and can’t concentrate.’
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