Dr. Raymond Soletic of Manhasset Otolaryngology and Facial Skin Rejuvenation Center said botox is for more than wrinkles.
For the past 15 years, Soletic has been using botox treatments on patients with head and neck pain to help relieve the symptoms of migraines, TMJ, osteoarthritis or cervical disk problems.
“When botox was used for facial aesthetic care 15 years ago, people who had migraine headaches and neck pain suddenly started to feel better,” Soletic said. “When the company Allergan pursued their medication, they discovered that botox turns off a biochemical in the pain response called Substance P. It’s like taking a domino out of a circle of dominos, and it presents it from completing its cycle.”
Soletic, of Douglaston, has worked in Manhasset since 1989, practicing general ear, nose and throat care as well as facial cosmetic care.
He received his medical degree from New York University in 1983 and trained at Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital before returning to his lifelong home, Long Island.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved botox as a treatment for pain, Soletic said, and the procedure, unlike cosmetic uses of botox, is covered by many insurance plans. According to an FDA statement, botox has been shown effective at preventing migraines, which plague about 12 percent of Americans.
Soletic, who has been using botox as a pain therapy medication for 15 years, said an application takes about 15 minutes with a small needle that does not require anesthetic. Treatments last for about 12 weeks, Soletic said, and treatment success ranges from significantly less pain to no pain at all.
“It’s been a wonderfully successful treatment,” Soletic said. “We treat patients every day because as the word spreads, one person who has this knows someone else with that, and it really has a superior outcome to many of the prescription tablet medications that people use without a systemic effect.”
Soletic said while many think of botox as a poison, the modern medical strains are created in a laboratory, and it is defined as a neuromodulator. The medication does not enter the circulatory system and is applied to specific points on the head or neck.
“Within 72 hours, the botox medicine binds to these pain receptors and it prevents substance pain from being released,” Soletic said. “When you prevent substance pain from being released, you substantially reduce the pain response, and people get less pain or no pain.”
Manhasset Otolaryngology and Facial Skin Rejuvenation Center is located at 1615 Northern Blvd. in Manhasset.
For more information, email RLSMDENT@aol.com or call 516-365-7952.
