Medical Experts Call for Greater Regulation in Cosmetic Surgery

A woman receives a treatment at cosmetic surgery practice. Jose Jordan/AFP/Getty Images

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the Australian Medical Association (AMA) have called for greater regulation into cosmetic surgery following announcements of commissioned reviews into the industry.

“The recent reports of patients who’ve suffered due to poor quality practices in the cosmetic surgery industry have been disturbing to say the least—clearly greater regulation is needed to ensure patient safety and care,” said RACGP president Dr. Karen Price.

Both AMA and RACGP have made submissions to Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and the Medical Board of Australia calling for more regulations, particularly transparency in the accreditation and titles of cosmetic surgery providers.

The RACGP suggested regulation of titles for providers; using “cosmetician” and “Dr.” for procedural providers but not surgeons so that consumers would be able to differentiate.

RAGCP also advised a prior GP consultation, stricter controls in advertising, accreditation of clinics, measures in patient consent as well as clear guidelines for patients to make a complaint if they are not satisfied.

“A GP would be able to assess the patient for appropriateness of the procedure, and to screen for underlying physical and mental health issues that may need to be considered,” Price said.

Cosmetic surgeries are invasive procedures, and any doctor can call themselves a cosmetic surgeon without specialist training. Especially with some emerging procedures that have no evidence-based guidelines such as female genital cosmetic surgery, raises further concerns as “anyone with a medical degree can perform them.”

“The potential harms associated with cosmetic surgery are related to the degree to which the competencies held by the practitioner match the scope of practice.”

The AHPRA and the Medical Board of Australia announced an independent review into the cosmetic surgery industry in Nov. 30, 2021, and called for submissions in March 4, 2022.

The review was prompted by the Cosmetics Cowboys episode on the Four Corners program in Oct. 26 2021 which exposed disturbing practices at the clinics of cosmetic surgeon Dr. Daniel Lanzer.

The investigation found hygiene and safety breaches, as well as procedures that left patients with ongoing physical and psychological problems.

“Patient safety and care must come first,” Price said, “A person performing any procedure should be able to deal with all routine aspects of care and any likely complications.”

The AMA also submitted a proposal to the Health Council, calling for further restrictions on the title of “surgeon” in medical practitioners.

AMA wrote on April 22 that terms such as “cosmetic surgeon” or “podiatric surgeon” can mislead patients to believe they are dealing with a formally trained and surgically qualified medical practitioner even though that may not be specialised.

The terms plastic surgeons and cosmetic surgeons are often conflated. However, whilst plastic surgeons need to be medically specialised, any doctor can be a cosmetic surgeon, potentially misleading patients.

The AMA recommended the restriction use of title “surgeon” only to fields of medical practice approved by the Health Council such as cardiothoracic, general, neurosurgery, orthopaedic, urology, vascular as well as other surgical field including ophthalmology, obstetrics, and gynaecology.

“Additional areas of practice may be added in the future,” the group added, suggesting the title of “rural generalist surgeon” for general practitioners that specialise in a particular field.

The AMA stated that the association does not “support non-medical practitioners using the title [of surgeon], in particular podiatric surgeons.”