Why we need to look at regulation for cosmetic surgery

As the media reports the hunt for Dr Bumbum (I honestly never thought I’d be writing a word like that in an issue of MPN), the head of the NHS in England, Simon Stevens, has issued a warning about the broadcasting of cosmetic surgery adverts in the breaks of the increasingly popular ITV2 show, Love Island. In particular he singled out the commercials aimed at young women for cosmetic breast surgery. I like to think I’m pretty aware of what’s going on in the world but I have to admit to being shocked to learn that many of the contestants on the show have had, according to the Telegraph ‘extensive plastic surgery’.

Separately, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPs) has commented on this. BAAPS president Rajiv Grover, said: “Such programmes, which are frequently aimed at young people, showcase stars who, more often than not, project and normalise unrealistic standard of beauty – even undergoing multiple procedures following public criticism about their own looks, which is further sensationalised in the media to reveal their surgically-obtained assets.”

Grover singles out the “unscrupulous clinics” that are targeting procedures “in a way that commodifies surgery as a quick fix and endangers patients”. He adds: “It is worth noting that many of these clinics have a history of targeting young people using influencers to promote surgery, for which they have received public criticism – but which has not halted this aggressive and unethical marketing tactic.”

While programmes like Love Island are promoting cosmetic surgery, figures from BAAPS showed that the number of Britons undergoing cosmetic procedures in 2016 were in decline: “For the first time in almost a decade of relatively consistent growth, cosmetic surgical procedure totals for women and men combined dipped below 31,000 – with 2016’s totals 5% less than those in 2007”.

In the same year, the BBC reported on concerns about the safety of the cosmetic industry, which is unregulated. Similarly, last year the Independent reported on a new report from the Nuffield Council of Bioethics that highighted growing concerns, “over anxiety related to unachievable appearance ideals – with young people said to be ‘bombarded’ by promotion of breast implants, nose jobs, and non-surgical procedures”.

According to the Independent “the think tank called for all cosmetic surgeons to be properly trained and certified, for a ban on non-medical invasive procedures for patients under 18, and for evidence of safety and effectiveness to be required for implants”.

It’s concerning that while the medical plastics sector adheres to intense scrutiny and regulation, putting safety at the forefront of all elements of the supply chain, that it’s clear there’s an element of the cosmetic surgical community that isn’t interested in following suit. Instead, it chooses to focus on an impressionable element of society for financial gain. If there’s one lesson for us all to learn from the search from Dr Bumbum, following the death of a patient, it’s that regulation is just as important for the cosmetic surgery sector as it is for plastic surgery on a global scale.