Fw: Eight in 10 plastic surgeons 'offer needless treatment'

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----- Original Message -----

From: " Kathi " <pureheart@...>

Sent: Friday, October 18, 2002 8:59 AM

Subject: Eight in 10 plastic surgeons 'offer needless treatment'

>

> Eight in 10 plastic surgeons 'offer needless treatment'

>

> By nce Health Editor

>

> 08 October 2002

>

> Eight out of 10 private cosmetic surgery clinics visited by a researcher

> pretending he wanted a nose job recommended unnecessary surgery, an

> investigation has shown.

>

> Another researcher who visited 11 clinics seeking breast implants and

> liposuction was given information that was wrong or inadequate and was

> recommended implants that have been

> withdrawn in the UK.

>

> The investigation, by the magazine Health Which?, will raise renewed

> doubts about the industry of cosmetic surgery, which is growing rapidly.

> An estimated 65,000 to 75,000

> operations to lift, stretch and erase imperfections are carried out each

> year in the UK.

>

> The last investigation of cosmetic surgery by Health Which? in 1997

> uncovered high-pressure sales tactics which had mostly disappeared, with

> clinics now encouraging patients to go

> away and think about their options.

>

> But the new investigation revealed that clinics still offered discounts

> for having more than one operation, consultations were conducted by

> unqualified " patient co-ordinators " and most

> surgeons were vague about their training.

>

> The researcher in search of a nose job was first assessed by a surgeon

> with 30 years' experience of rhinoplasty who said his nose was well

> proportioned and did not require surgery.

>

> But the clinics he visited described it as " prominent " , having " a bit of

> a bulge " , a " slightly unusual cartilage " and being " really wide " . One

> said he had a " pointy profile " , and another that

> his nose was " slightly bent " .

>

> Most of the clinics downplayed the risks, even though rhinoplasty can

> result in loss of the sense of smell, breathing difficulties and heavy

> bleeding. One surgeon mentioned the

> possibility of a " slight touch-up " six months after the operation,

> although this can mean a repeat of the whole procedure and should not be

> done earlier than a year after the initial

> operation.

>

> The female researcher was briefed to tell clinics, if they asked, that

> her mother had died of breast cancer three years earlier and to admit

> that she did not eat healthily or exercise. She

> should then have been told that implants make it harder to detect early

> signs of cancer and that the effects of liposuction would be shortlived

> unless she changed her lifestyle.

>

> Only four of the eight surgeons asked her about a family history of

> breast cancer and only three of these discussed the effects of implants

> on screening. One clinic did not ask her for a

> medical history at all.

>

> During a consultation by a firm offering surgery in Poland, which was

> conducted in a hotel room, the patient co-ordinator examined the

> researchers' breasts and then showed off her

> own, which Health Which? said was " very inappropriate " .

>

> A new system of regulation for private health care introduced in April

> states that surgeons starting work in cosmetic surgery must be on the

> General Medical Council's specialist

> register - meaning they must have specialist training, though not

> necessarily in cosmetic surgery. Those already working in cosmetic

> surgery before April can continue, even if they

> have had no proper training. Of the 10 surgeons seen by the researchers,

> six were on the specialist register.

>

> Despite the new system, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic

> Surgeons says the public is still at risk. A spokesman said: " We have

> been campaigning for stricter regulation

> and it is long past the time when we should have it. At the moment

> patients can be operated on by people who have no real qualification and

> no experience. "

>

>

>