Mala McAlpin With up to 100,000 Australians expected to receive cosmetic procedures across the country’s upcoming ‘party season’, The Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery has today released an official warning emphasising the dangers of inexperienced practitioners.
According to the ACCS, more than one quarter of all annual cosmetic procedures take place during the end of year ‘party season’, and the body hopes to deter those seeking anti-wrinkle injections or dermal fillers from cheaper, untrained physicians, or ‘cosmetic cowboys’ in the eight-week period between Melbourne Cup and New Year’s Eve.
77 complaints have been received by The NSW Department of Fair Trading since 2016 around beauty procedures including injectables.
ACCS President Dr Irene Kushelew today warned consumers via the ACCS website about the dire consequences they might encounter if they visit an untrained physician. “There is a major misconception in Australia and around the world that anti-wrinkle injections and dermal fillers are beauty treatments, in the same category as facials,” Dr Kushelew said.
“This has been heightened by the number of practitioners offering these services in casual settings like shopping malls, at the hairdressers, and even at informal ‘parties’. But cosmetic injectables are medical procedures that carry risks, and these need to be weighed up with the perceived physical and psychological benefits. Before receiving any type of cosmetic injectable, you must have a medical consultation with a doctor so they can consider your medical history.”
Dr Kushelew explains that practitioners’ skills vary significantly depending on training, and that those who have undergone two-day injector courses are not appropriately equipped with the skills required.
“The public needs protection from untrained, inexperienced, ‘occasional’ practitioners offering cosmetic procedures who do not understand the high-risk areas of the face. Many practitioners undergo a one-or-two-day training course only for cosmetic injectables – this is simply not adequate,” she said.
“At this time, the ACCS is the only College offering an eighteen-month cosmetic injectable course for medical practitioners. The course includes exams and leads to Fellowship of the College. This specific training means practitioners can perform with top-of-class skill, and are dedicated to responsibly guiding patients along with ongoing education.”
ACCS also reminds readers of the recent case in which permanent blindness occurred on an Australian female patient after receiving dermal filler from a Sydney clinic, as an artery can be blocked by the dermal filler when injected incorrectly and in the wrong place.
