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The ‘perfect storm’ in cosmetic surgery - Nigel Mercer, BAAPS

The ‘perfect storm’ in cosmetic surgery

Last month, I was invited to edit an issue of the magazine Clinical Risk, so I asked a number of my colleagues and fellow professionals in the cosmetic surgery industry and the legal profession nationally and internationally, to contribute articles for the edition, which was dedicating an entire issue to cosmetic surgery. The contributors included other British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) members, such as Chris Khoo and Rajiv Grover, as well as psychologist Eileen Bradbury and former President of the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ASAPS) Foad Nahai.

This issue of the publication was dedicated to the issues ranging from the current regulatory framework in the UK and the US (comparing it with France, where aesthetic plastic surgery cannot be advertised or promoted to the public), a 14-year analysis of lawsuits pertaining to cosmetic surgery cases, the risks to surgeons’ reputations through media exposure and recommendations for minimizing risks for patient and practitioner alike.

For me, and for the membership of BAAPS, the major issue facing the cosmetic surgery industry in the UK is regulation. While it may seem odd to hear someone from within a specific profession demanding more rules and laws through which we must navigate, I see it as the only way we can survive and prosper, as well as bringing the leading techniques and products to our patients.

As I said in the article, we have reached a stage where public expectation, driven by media hype and, dare one say, professional greed, has brought us to a ‘perfect storm’ in the cosmetic surgical market.

Part of our problem is that cosmetic surgery and procedures have become a ‘product’ which we then ‘sell’ on to our ‘clients’. The whole thing has become more like a business, and as with many other businesses, all some people are interested in is profit. If we have to sell anything, we should sell our advice, not procedures. If we cannot self-regulate, then, like the financial institutions, regulation will eventually be imposed.

There is an argument for all advertising and promotion of cosmetic surgery and procedures direct to the public to be banned, as is the case in France. Perhaps, like tobacco, there should be a Europe-wide ban on advertising all cosmetic ‘surgical’ procedures, including on search engines.

All cosmetic treatments are medical interventions, and every medical intervention has a complication and failure rate. Consequently, there are no ‘consumers’ or ‘clients’ but only ‘patients’. Perhaps the single most important factor in reducing clinical risk in cosmetic surgery is the motive for performing any procedure must never be financial gain, so I suggest we get our act together as an industry as we are in grave danger of biting the hand that feeds us.

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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