All alarms went off yesterday when the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) warned of an outbreak of at least 14 cases of iatrogenic botulism (which can appear after 'administration of botulinum toxin for therapeutic or cosmetic purposes) detected on the continent and related to trips to Turkey to undergo slimming operations. The cases were mainly recorded in people from Germany (12), Austria and Switzerland who had the toxin injected into their digestive system in order to lose weight.
To begin with, it should be noted that this practice is not indicated in Europe because there is not "enough scientific evidence to certify that it is a safe process", Dr. Eduardo de Frutos, secretary of the Spanish Society of Medicine, explains to La Vanguardia Aesthetics (Seme). But Turkey is not part of the EU and, therefore, "does not have the rigorous controls that exist here", adds Dr. Iván Mañero, plastic surgeon and executive president of IM Clinic. "Within medical practice - he continues - we encounter many complications that come from Turkey. What used to come from South America now comes from this country, and this is a problem that will get worse."
The aim of injecting this protein into the muscles of the stomach wall is to relax them and, in this way, slow down digestion. "It should be borne in mind that these muscles are the ones that make the peristaltic movements that help our digestive system to digest the food we eat", recalls De Frutos. If you eat - he continues - and your stomach is relaxed, "digestion will be slower and heavier and, even if you ingest little food, you will have a feeling of satiety". And, obviously, people who have undergone this intervention eat much less while the effect lasts – about six to eight months, says Dr. Mañero – and this makes them lose weight.
Botulinum toxin is a naturally occurring molecule that causes the disease botulism, which is acquired through food poisoning. When the toxin is ingested, it enters the body through the stomach. The first symptoms are usually gastrointestinal (nausea, vomiting and intestinal discomfort), but later affect the diaphragm, "which is a very important muscle in breathing", recalls De Frutos.
There are patients with botulism who end up connected to a ventilator until, little by little, they recover. Precisely, some of those affected by the botulism outbreak have been in the Uci. But the situation can become complicated to the point that "it can even lead to death due to the paralysis of all the muscles of the body", warns De Frutos.
One of the problems with this technique that they apply in Turkey "is that they inject the toxin directly into the area where it enters the body to produce the disease, and in doses 20 and 30 times higher than those used in the aesthetic medicine", concludes De Frutos.
