Chief Medical Officer warns of Botox risk

Friday, 28 January 2005 12:00 AM

Increasing numbers of people risk permanently disfiguring themselves through using Botox and other cosmetic procedures without proper supervision, Sir Liam Donaldson said today.

The Chief Medical Officer said many people were unaware of the risk of supposedly minor cosmetic procedures, but admitted authorities were partly to blame by allowing that area of medicine to "escape" proper regulation for too long.

He said he would be asking the medical profession to develop specialist training programmes for surgeons performing cosmetic surgery. Botox administration and facilities will also be brought under the regulation of the Healthcare Commission and new public education materials will be ready by the end of the summer.

Speaking this morning, Sir Liam said improvements were needed in many areas, including the training of surgeons, patient information and cracking down on unlicensed practitioners.

However, he added he was equally concerned by the growth in cosmetic procedures. As opposed to cosmetic surgery - which covers major operations such as breast implants, nose jobs and tummy tucks - cosmetic procedures include Botox injections, aesthetic fillers and other less invasive operations.

Regarding Botox, Sir Liam said many people were not aware of the risks associated with the procedure, which included serious disfigurement. He also admitted that the Government was not sure how many people were dispensing Botox - an off-licence drug - although they believed it was over 20,000.

Simon Gillespie, head of operations at the Healthcare Commission, said tighter regulation are needed to protect the patients of cosmetic surgeons, many of whom are not fully explaining the risks involved in the procedures they carry out.

He said there were concerns over "a number of suppliers" who he said were administering cosmetic surgery treatments without making sure the patient recognised it was a medical procedure with the attendant risks.

He also bemoaned the lack of standard definitions of what constituted cosmetic surgery, saying: "If we're going to regulate it, we need to be quite specific about what we're regulating."

Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA), welcomed today's initiative, and called for urgent action to address the "regulation blindspot".

Chief executive Peter Walsh, said: "This initiative is welcome but overdue. The area of cosmetic surgery and cosmetic treatment generally is urgently in need of better regulation. It is a medical accident waiting to happen. We welcome the spirit of the forthcoming reports, but their impact must be more than 'cosmetic'."

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