It is 15 months since our firm and others reiterated calls for greater regulation of the cosmetic surgery industry. We again made our comments following a damning ABC TV Four Corners and Nine Newspapers joint investigation into celebrity cosmetic surgeon Dr. Daniel Lanzer and other practitioners.
Since then, the medical regulator has announced and completed a review and Dr. Lanzer is no longer registered to practice. But reform has not been thorough or swift enough, and patients are suffering.
In November 2021, one month after the Four Corners episode, the Medical Board of Australia and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) announced an independent review of patient safety in the cosmetic surgery sector. The review into strengthening regulations to better protect patients also examined the role of advertising and social media by cosmetic surgeons.
It took a TV and newspaper story to reactively spark the review by the regulator. This is despite the issues raised in the program and newspaper articles being known for many years. By then our regional NSW-based firm alone was helping more than 120 women who had suffered at the hands of a disgraced and de-registered cosmetic surgeon Les Blackstock. Hundreds of other people had raised concerns about Dr. Lanzer and other practitioners mentioned by Four Corners after the episode ran.
Plastic surgeons and others had long been lobbying for tighter regulation of cosmetic surgeons, who, unlike other surgeons, are not subject to the same rigorous training or accreditation. Any doctor can call themselves a cosmetic surgeon.
The 2022 review of cosmetic surgery recommendations
The independent review by a former health ombudsman and expert panel was expected in mid-2022 but not released until September 1. Read the report here. It made 16 recommendations after finding unsafe practices, under-reporting of safety issues, misleading advertising, and substandard marketing across the cosmetic surgery industry. It also found the state-by-state regulation of facilities potentially exposed patients to undue risk.
The recommendations were accepted by AHPRA and the Medical Board of Australia with a promised cosmetic surgery enforcement unit to take action alongside the medical board and $4.5 million in funding. Read the response here.
The recommendations also related to:
- an “endorsement” process under national law to establish expectations about minimum qualifications for medical practitioners wishing to perform cosmetic surgery
- improvements to the way AHPRA and the Medical Board manage cosmetic surgery notifications
- education campaigns to assist consumers to understand the significance of an endorsement and to stop the under-reporting of safety issues
- identify and clearly map the roles, responsibilities, and powers of each regulator in the cosmetic surgery sector (including on a state-by-state basis)
- strengthening advertising guidelines and taking stronger enforcement action against practitioners who breach the regulations, including on social media.
Cosmetic surgery reform doesn’t go far enough
The Australasian Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ASAPS) was highly critical of the review and recommendations, saying the changes did not prioritise patient safety or go far enough. It labelled the changes reckless and irresponsible arguing AHPRA had chosen to protect cosmetic surgeons, instead of patients. It is calling on the Government to step in and ensure any medical practitioner has completed Australian Medical Council-accredited surgical training.
ASAPS says universal minimum standards for education, training, and qualifications in cosmetic surgery have been non-existent in Australia. Any medical practitioner can perform invasive cosmetic surgery without appropriate training or sufficient supervised experience to reach an acceptable level of competency.
This means consumers selecting a cosmetic surgeon have to sift through promotional advertising and marketing material and make sense of numerous qualifications.
It is still not clear when the adopted recommendations will be implemented. With the everyday delay, patients suffer.
Help to source a cosmetic surgeon or to take action against a negligent cosmetic surgeon
If you are thinking about cosmetic surgery, please take the time to understand the risks. Your cosmetic surgery practitioner should explain those risks. If they do not, that is a warning sign. We see lots of cases where unexpected scarring or permanent injuries occur. The best way to reduce risk is to choose a specialist plastic surgeon rather than a cosmetic surgeon. The Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons has lists of accredited, trained, and experienced surgeons on its website.
If you believe you have suffered after having cosmetic surgery, our health and medical lawyers can confidentially discuss whether you have a case for medical negligence or other action you can take.
Our fact sheet on cosmetic surgery as well as our free eBooks on women’s health and the law have more information.
Call our team for a no obligation discussion on 1800 874 949 or fill out the contact form below, and we will be in touch.
