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Q&A with Nigel Mercer, BAAPS President

Nigel Mercer, BAAPS

As head of the most respected industry body, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), Nigel Mercer currently holds something of a unique position. He is in many ways the public figurehead of the whole cosmetic surgery market, and also has an ideal position from which to see the cosmetic surgery business as a whole.

Next week, BAAPS members will gather in Cardiff for their annual meeting to discuss what has happened in their business in the past year, and what they see coming for the future of cosmetic surgery and procedures. Ahead of this, BuyAssociation.co.uk Editor Paul Collins managed to snatch a few minutes with BAAPS President, Nigel Mercer.

Static

We first talked about the current state of the cosmetic surgery industry, and how it has fared through the recession. The general feeling, Nigel said, is that parts of the market have fared better than others. “The non-surgical market seems to have held up quite well, but the market for those who needed to borrow money for surgery has been hit quite hard” he said. “At the same time, this year, I haven’t noticed any significant areas of growth in cosmetic surgery.”

The theme of the industry holding on and consolidating its position was continued in examination of the most popular procedures undertaken during the recession. “The market has been pretty static,” Nigel asserted. “The numbers of breast augments and noses may have gone down so that will have changed the numbers, but the BAAPS audit figures will be out in the next few months so all will be revealed!”

Mr. Mercer also didn’t envisage 2010 being that much different in terms of the amounts of procedures performed or the areas of popularity. He stated that economic recovery and consolidation were likely to be the watchwords for the next 12 months.

New developments

Moving on to new innovations in the cosmetic surgery world, we discussed the fact that the media had widely reported that the first eyelash transplant operation in the UK had recently been carried out. “In fact, one of our members, Greg Williams, did this some time ago - back in February 2008,” Nigel said. “Any new procedure needs to be tested before it is launched and new is not always better. Often, it is new marketing of old procedures design to restore interest in the treatment. How long the effects of a new procedure will last, and the complication rate - is by definition, unknown. So, the public should not rush into them until they are properly established. The surgeon would not, so why should the patient?”

This leads us on to talk about industry regulation, and how best to manage the control and distribution of the procedures, treatments and products in the cosmetic surgery marketplace. Taking an example from the recent recession, Mr. Mercer is keen to see the government taking more of an interest in the subject: “Self regulation, managed by the Government, in the financial markets has failed so it is unlikely that it will work in the cosmetic industry. Regulation is needed and fast!”

Talking of the future of cosmetic surgery, I was keen to find out what Nigel thought would be the next big procedure to become popular among patients. Again, it seems there will be news and developments from the upcoming Annual Meeting. “The ‘next big thing’? Fat grafting is now finding its place,” he says. “It is not yet completely sorted but there is the possibility of breast augmentation, without an implant, for a one-cup size increase. More details will be given at this year’s BAAPS Annual Meeting.”

I couldn’t resist asking Nigel what his strangest request from a patient had been: “To make someone’s tongue look like a snake, and a couple wanting breast augmentation together are on a par.”

We will have details of new procedures, statistics and more from the BAAPS Annual Meeting in the next couple of weeks.

Nigel Mercer

Nigel Mercer is President of BAAPS, a not-for-profit organisation, established for the advancement of education and practice of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery for public benefit. Members undergo thorough background screening before they can join. Information about specific procedures and surgeons’ contact details can be found on the BAAPS website.

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