Cosmetic Surgery health warnings take a new turn

Whilst the news that cosmetic surgery is facing further questions and concerns doesn’t seem anything all that new; it does carry a rather poignant message when Neil Mercer, president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (the man who technically unites plastic surgeons) calls for the need for tighter regulations, deeming the cosmetic surgery industry a “mess”.

It also raises stark statistics of the number of unregulated practitioners within the UK alone. These statistics will come as a shock to many people who have considered, or had, cosmetic surgery. In previous news warnings people are urged to have surgery within the UK to avoid the butchering cosmetic surgeries abroad. However, it is becoming shockingly apparent that the health warnings issued for cosmetic surgery abroad apply to things a lot closer to home. Did you know that within the UK a medical qualification of most kinds entitles you to set yourself up within a business of plastic surgery? And that these surgeons can then legally use untested things within your surgery?


With the ever-rising numbers of cosmetic surgery, the greed within this industry becomes evermore apparent. It is just this greed that is putting more and more people at risk, and calls for tighter regulations. We frequently hear health-warnings about certain drugs, the need for more testing and so forth, but this shows how regulated and strict the healthcare system is with the administration of drugs…so why not have such guidelines within the cosmetic surgery industry? It would be unheard of for an advert to appear for a two-in-one surgery abroad for a normal medical surgery, but it seems the norm within the cosmetic surgery industry. These vast differences only serve to show the elasticity of the rules within this area and the dire need to step in and regulate the businesses before the damages rise even further. 

However, it may not come as a surprise to note that a spokesperson for the Department of Health neither acknowledged nor agreed with the need for extra regulations, merely stating that there were already many regulations in place. With cosmetic surgery rapidly becoming as normal as donning ones make-up in a morning; and with a top cosmetic surgeon issuing his own warnings; it is maybe time to face up to the “mess” of this particular industry. 

Monday 30th November 2009

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