14 DAY TRIAL // Plastic surgery, especially the one performed in the so-called cowboy cosmetic clinics, is not meant to help patients overcome their issues, but is rather focused on profit, for which, understandably, the patient is essential. The cosmetic industry is like any other industry, and is certainly not too preoccupied with patient care, which is why potential consumers should make sure not to be lured into buying the illusion that is currently sold in the media, former President of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) Douglas McGeorge says for the Daily Mail.
Following an undercover investigation by Which? in British cowboy clinics, it has been revealed that most plastic surgeons and staff fail to disclose all the details to the future patients, opting instead for what has been described as “hard-sell techniques,” which are meant to boost sales by encouraging false expectations. Integrity and professionalism, as well as patient care, are near to non-existent in these clinics, McGeorge says, but what’s worse is that more and more women fall prey to these irresponsible marketing campaigns by the day.
This would, of course, explain the increasing number of patients who have to return to the clinic to undergo another procedure, either because they were not presented with realistic details of what they should expect or because they were made to undertake the wrong procedure (meaning, one that was not supposed to solve their problems in the first place). “For some clinics, it’s all about getting people through the till, rather than patient care.” McGeorge says of the current situation in the industry estimated at £1 billion a year in the UK alone.
Personal injury lawyer Mike Saul, who has represented many unhappy patients over the years, agrees: as the demand for surgery is on the rise and the level of professionalism is sinking, dissatisfaction among patients is also increasing. This happens mostly because they’re being sold an illusion, a distorted image of what they will really get when the recovery period comes to an end – for which only the doctors are responsible, Saul says.
“What I am seeing is extremely frightening. People are innocently booking in for surgery, believing it will transform their lives for the better, and they’re coming out maimed and disfigured, often for life. The result of the boom is that a number of commercial clinics have sprung up, and are putting profit before patients, and commerce before ethics. The result is that operations are being rushed to fit more patients in, which means mistakes are more likely to be made. The industry also suffers from inadequate regulation.” Saul says for the same publication.
A solution out of this situation, though, is nowhere in sight at the moment. For the UK, for instance, the NHS could step in to regulate the way the cowboy cosmetic clinics do business, Saul suggests, or at least keep a stricter eye on what comes out of them, but that is far from happening right now. The same would probably apply to other countries where the industry of cosmetic surgery is flourishing as well.