Cosmetic Surgeons Face Crackdown After Deaths and Botched Surgeries

Right now, any doctor in Australia can call themselves a "cosmetic surgeon"—the title essentially means nothing. But after a spate of botched surgeries around the country, and even a handful of deaths, it looks like a crackdown is coming to this largely unregulated industry.

The ABC reports that the Australian Medical Board is moving to restrict the title "cosmetic surgeon" to doctors who have approved plastic surgery credentials. At the moment, anyone with a medical degree can open up a clinic and call themselves a "cosmetic surgeon"—performing procedures that can affect muscle and nerve function on delicate areas like the face without any specific surgical training.

The move comes after the death of beauty salon owner Jean Huang, who died in August during a breast procedure at her clinic in the Sydney suburb of Chippendale. Huang went into cardiac arrest after she was given local anaesthetic and breast fillers, and later died at Prince Alfred Hospital. The procedure was administered by 33-year-old Jie Shao, a Chinese tourist who has no medical qualifications in Australia (her lawyer claimed she has a five-year degree at Guangdong Medical University, specialising in dermatology).

Shao is currently facing 10 years, charged with recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm and using poison to endanger life. Another woman, 29-year-old Yueqiong Fu, is also facing manslaughter charges for assisting during the procedure. Police believe a combination of the painkillers lidocaine and tramadol was what ultimately killed Huang.

In the wake of her death, a number of high profile Sydney cosmetic surgeons banded together to push a Change.org petition, urging politicians to review the NSW legislation around injectables. "In Australia currently, we have a farcical situation where Skype calls with medical practitioners are substituted for proper consultations, allowing nurses and others to administer potentially dangerous cosmetic injectables with dire consequences from beauty salons, hairdressers and other unsupervised premises," the petition reads.

"Cosmetic medical procedures are not beauty treatments. They are medical treatments with the risks associated," it continues. "Cosmetic injectables gone wrong can cause anaphylactic reactions, blindness, skin necrosis and infections."

Sydney cosmetic surgeon Dr Naomi McCullum told VICE that in the wake of Huang's death, she wants to see strict regulations around cosmetic procedures. "The things that I hear about, all day, every day, are really disappointing. And it's due to the law itself and the lack of enforcement," she said. "One of the problems is, because a doctor doesn't have to be onsite at a clinic that's doing injectables, patients can't even check up on who's responsible for their care. So that's what we want to change, so at least patients can check if they're with the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons.