Anesthesia with EMLA cream for botulinum A toxin injection into eyelids.

We investigated the efficacy of an eutectic mixture of local anesthetics (EMLA) in reducing the pain of a botulinum toxin injection into eyelids. 17 patients with facial dyskinesia (9 blepharospasm and 8 hemifacial spasm) who had been treated regularly with botulinum toxin injections received EMLA cream and placebo. The pain was assessed by the ophthalmologist and the patient. Injection with EMLA cream showed lower pain scores (mean 1.82 +/- 2.13, median 1) than injection with placebo (8.76 +/- 2.17; p = 0.0001). Percutaneous anesthesia induced by EMLA cream is an effective and safe method which improves the comfort in patients who need repeated botulinum toxin injections for their facial dyskinesia. Copyright 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel