Safety Before Profits: Why Cosmetic Surgery Is Ripe for Regulation | SBS News
should read this article as part of the research process – it explains how cosmetic surgery has become such an unregulated industry. Safety should always be before profits. It is not just the ability to perform a procedure that counts; it is the ability and competence to deal with post-operative complications, perform revisions if required (which is reconstructive), exercise sound clinical judgement, being able to admit patients with complications at a larger private hospital with high dependency unit or ICU if required and so on. This takes years of surgical training and experience and learning is ongoing for the remainder of a plastic surgeon’s career.
Remember : cosmetic surgery is elective. You are just as important as a cardiac, neurology or renal patient. But by being elective, what this means for you, is that you have much more time to research. Don’t rush into cosmetic surgery. Your health and wellbeing could depend on it, not to mention your dependents.
Cosmetic surgery in Australia is a billion dollar industry that has been allowed to grow with scant regulation.
Cosmetic surgery is not a recognised branch of medicine, so operators are only required to have a general medical degree. These doctors are able to operate in an environment with few minimum standards and no inspection system to ensure patients are not at increased risk of harm. Relying on doctors alone to provide safe operating environments in such a lucrative and competitive environment is unrealistic and naive. Doctors’ commercial interests are a powerful disincentive for them to establish licensed facilities with all the checks and balances: it costs money and takes away from profits…
It’s time for state and territory governments to introduce meaningful regulations to protect patients against potentially harmful practices.
by Merrilyn Walton, Safety before profits: why cosmetic surgery is ripe for regulation | SBS News