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Dermatologist guilty of using fake Botox on patients |
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Saturday, 16 September 2006 |
A dermatologist in South Dakota has pleaded guilty to misbranding in court, losing his licence for a year. Dr Anastasios Pappas, 38, was sentenced to one year of probation and fined $2,000 for injecting ten patients with fake Botox.
The dermatologist will complete 250 hours of community service and will be prohibited from practicing medicine for a year.
Botox, which is used to reduce wrinkles by temporarily paralyzing facial nerves, is the brand name for the FDA approved toxin. However, during 2004, Pappas ordered at least six vials of an unapproved, black market form of the toxin from a supplier in Tucson, Arizona. The product sold by the Arizona firm was not licensed or approved for use in humans. Although none of Pappas' patients were hurt by the TRI toxin, four people in Florida were paralyzed after being injected with a toxin manufactured by a company that supplied the Arizona wholesaler.
Pappas ordered the substitute product after apparently becoming frustrated with the rising cost of brand name Botox and saw an opportunity to save 40% of supply costs by using the fake product. Before using the product on patients, Pappas said that he tested it on family pets, himself and his mother, and satisfied that they suffered no adverse affects, decided to use it on paying patients.
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