Cosmetic surgery review underway

Dr Dan Kennedy speaks about patient safety issues

In January the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and the Medical Board of Australia began a review of patient safety issues in the cosmetic industry. The review comes after the Australian media highlighted the lack of regulation in the cosmetic surgery industry, causing serious injuries to patients. Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) President Dan Kennedy has welcomed the review and would like to see it lead to the introduction of new safeguards to protect patients. “We have been pushing for a review for years and we trust that the government and their experts will come to the correct conclusion and make it very clear to the public who is a surgeon and who is not a surgeon,” Dr Kennedy says.

“Public safety has to be the absolute principle focus when it comes to cosmetic surgery.” The review will explore how to strengthen risk-based regulation of practitioners and aims to ensure the regulatory approach keeps pace with rapid changes in the industry. In recent years, there has been a proliferation of inadequately trained practitioners offering cosmetic procedures. At the same time, demand for cosmetic surgery has increased due to various factors, from the influence of social media to the use of Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic. An article in the Australian Financial Review in August 2020 claimed that demand for beauty treatments including face lifts, breast enhancements, wrinkle relaxers and dermal fillers increased by more than 50 per cent during the pandemic. Current regulations fail to protect these patients and as the law in Australia stands, practitioners with little or no surgical training can call themselves ‘cosmetic surgeons’ in their marketing materials.

In October 2021, RACS and specialty societies involved in cosmetic surgery released a media statement calling for restrictions on the title ‘cosmetic surgeon’. The statement read: ‘A relatively minor but potentially effective reform would be one which prevented medical practitioners not registered in a specialty with a significant surgical scope, and who have not been trained in an AMC accredited surgical training program from representing themselves as ‘cosmetic surgeons’ and advertising to the general public as such.’ The lack of oversight of the industry has meant that sub-optimal premises are used for surgical procedures, which further risks the health of patients. Dr Kennedy says many patients have no idea of the lack of regulation in the cosmetic surgery industry and are seduced by the practitioner’s website and membership of a group of cosmetic surgeons. “Patients say they believed their doctor had been a bona fide surgeon and they’re surprised when they hear they weren’t,” he says. “It’s the practitioners’ fault that they represent themselves as something they are not, and they don’t appreciate the danger of what they are doing or realise the trouble they can get their patients into.” The situation is vastly different for the more than 500 members of the ASPS. Each member is required to hold a specialist qualification from RACS, have undertaken a minimum of 12 years of medical and surgical education, including at least five years of specialist postgraduate training, and be a RACS Fellow. As part of this process, they have undergone extensive training, testing and supervision to ensure they have the skills to operate, properly assess the risks of surgery and manage complex recovery processes. Crucially, they are also trained in the ethics around consultations, procedures, and patient management, including determining whether surgery is a safe and ethical option for individuals. Dr Kennedy hopes the review results in greater protections for patients to ensure their cosmetic surgery does not result in ongoing health problems. “I think it is incredibly important that cosmetic surgeons are fully trained to be able to provide cosmetic surgery services. It has to be regarded as any other surgery as it carries the same risks.”

The review is due to be completed in mid2022.

Image: Dr Dan Kennedy, ASPS President