Consumer Health News

Plastic Surgeon slams Pageant Mom: 8-year-old getting Botox story 'repugnant'

By April MacIntyre May 14, 2011, 0:26 GMT

The mother, Kerry Campbell of San Francisco, CA., is now being investigated by the State of California. Photo courtesy of ABC News

Monsters and Critics' spoke to Dr. Alexander Rivkin today about the mother injecting her 8 year-old daughter with Botox to make her competitive in the pageant world.

The mother, Kerry Campbell of San Francisco, CA.,  is now being investigated by the State of California.

Plastic Surgeon Dr. Alexander Rivkin slams what the mother is doing to her daughter.

“The most disturbing part of the story is when she says that all the other pageant mothers do it!” says Dr. Rivkin.

“I am glad to hear that child protective services are involved; if a doctor was doing this, it would be clearly malpractice. A mother doing this in her house with product coming from 'a trusted source'...who is behind the doctor scene and everything, as she said on GMA? It is obvious child abuse. She is putting her child at risk for serious injury by injecting her with an unknown chemical that she thinks is Botox.” says Dr. Rivkin.

Rivkin specializes in facial injectibles and facial cosmetic surgery, and is deeply concerned that people are buying Botox and fillers online attempting to do this at home or at "parties."

“You can not purchase Botox without being a physician. What the mother is doing is not only monstrous and abusive but clearly against the law.  Only nurses and physicians are allowed to administer Botox because you have to know how to do it safely to avoid potentially life threatening complications!" says Dr. Rivkin.

"I would broaden my criticism of this abhorrent episode to condemn the entire child beauty pageant system," added Dr. Rivkin. "It is system where crazy mothers try to re-live their own failed beauty queen fantasies through the surrogate of their child. Meanwhile, they are imposing adult body image insecurities and pressures on a child who is developmentally unprepared to deal with them. They are causing long term psychiatric damage and robbing these kids of their childhood. It is a selfish and repugnant practice." says Dr. Rivkin.

Dr. Rivkin founded Westside Medical Spa in the Westwood area of Los Angeles.  He was the first physician in the country to offer the Non-Surgical Nose Job, his signature method for non-invasive correction of cosmetic nasal irregularities.

Rivkin received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University and his M.D. degree from Yale University. He received his postgraduate residency training in Otolaryngology-Facial Plastic Surgery at U.C., San Diego and the University of Texas, Houston . He is a member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology, American Medical Association, American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, American Society of Cosmetic Dermatology, American Society of Laser Medicine and Surgery, California Society of Facial Plastic Surgery and the Los Angeles County Medical Society.

www.westsideaesthetics.com