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Great news about new guidelines for cosmetic surgeons

I have been so pleased to read all the recent press coverage regarding the introduction of stricter guidelines for surgeons and doctors performing cosmetic surgery which are due to be introduced in June 2016. The guidelines will be introduced by the General Medical Council (GMC) and will apply to all those practicing cosmetic surgery both privately and under the NHS.

The rules are being introduced on the back of a report conducted in 2013 by Sir Bruce Keogh and following the PIP scandal in which thousands of women throughout Europe and the UK were given implants with substandard silicon leading to ruptures and other complications.

The rules will prevent offers such as “buy one get one free” for cosmetic surgery and require doctors to fully explain the risks of each procedure before giving patients a cooling off period to consider their options and discuss the risks with family and friends, or even their GP, before deciding to go ahead. Those who don’t comply with the new rules face the risk of being struck off the GMC register all together meaning that they would no longer be able to practice medicine of any kind.

I feel that these rules have been needed for a long time. Speaking with patients who have undergone plastic surgery one of the most common complaints is that the risks of the procedure were never fully explained and had they truly understood the risks associated they may have decided not to go ahead. Often I hear stories of plastic surgery undertaken at great personal expense to address long standing issues where sadly the result has resulted in a worsening of the condition and issue. Patients have felt pressured into choosing to have surgery with discounted time limited offers meaning that unless they confirm and elect to the surgery done in a short period of time the costs will increase beyond that which they are able to afford. This leads to a pressurised environment in which there is the potential for risks to be overlooked by the patient due to the feeling of having to go ahead there and then.

The new rules will mean that these types of practices will no longer be allowed and I hope that as a result all patients considering cosmetic surgery will have the time necessary to fully consider their decision and reach the right outcome for them.

I do however worry that the tightening of rules could mean patients seeking unlicensed or unregistered practitioners for some cosmetic procedures and would therefore encourage anyone contemplating cosmetic surgery of any kind to check out the practice, the doctor who will be performing the procedure and make sure they are registered with the GMC.

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