Botox, lasers, injections: Are popular cosmetic procedures low-risk?

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Botox, fillers and lasers: they're the treatments so many women and a growing number of men count on to erase the signs of aging. And here's something that may further boost their popularity: researchers in Chicago are now revealing they may be even safer than you think.

"I don't think it was hugely dramatic but it made me, it made a difference to me and that's why I did it," said Lynn Janke.

Janke, 59, wanted to keep looking as young as she felt. So the fun-loving hospital employee was game for some minimally-invasive procedures. She's had laser treatments wipe away a brown spot, Botox for her wrinkles, and a filler for unwanted lines.

"It's so amazing to see the face fill in and the lines disappear, it's just kinda neat," Janke said.

Janke says she never considered if things might go wrong. Now a new study from Northwestern Medicine suggests there's less reason than ever to worry because adverse events are relatively rare.

"This is perhaps one of the first times we have actually looked at the evidence," said Dr. Murad Alam, a dermatologist/researcher at Northwestern Medicine.

The research in the journal JAMA Dermatology looked at more than 20,000 treatments performed at dermatologist clinics across the country. They included lasers, energy devices, injectable neurotoxins such as Botox, and fillers. Out of all those treatments, there were only 48 reported problems.

"The side effects were not things that were life threatening or even that significantly inconvenienced people. They were just temporality effects that went away by themselves," said Dr. Alam.

Some of the complaints were reddening of the skin, bruising and bumps. The top trouble areas were the cheeks, smile lines and eyelids. Still, none was considered serious.

"We now know you can do those things, you can get that incremental benefit and you can do it without taking significant risk," said Dr. Alam.

"I'll keep doing it," said Janke. "I'm gonna do it again. I'll probably do some more filler, a little Botox and I think I can get the brown spots off my hands, so I might try that."

Remember, just because bad outcomes are considered rare, it doesn't mean they don't happen. And this study only followed people for about three months, so long-term issues were not considered.

Finally, this did not look at procedures done at a spa or salon or other places without a physician's supervision.