Cosmetic surgery: a hard sell

COSMETIC surgery clinics are using hard-sell techniques to pressurise patients into risky procedures without proper medical advice, an independent investigation has found.

Time-limited special offers, two-for-one deals and exaggerated claims about results are among the methods used by clinics to lure new patients, the study by consumer association Which? found.

Governments both north and south of the Border yesterday came under pressure to regulate the burgeoning industry after the investigation found non-medical workers prioritising "the hard-sell" over safety.

The consumer group is being backed by industry body the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) in its call for new legislation to bring rogue practitioners to account.

Jenny Driscoll, the health campaigner for Which?, said last night: "As our research over the last ten years has consistently shown that the cosmetics industry isn't capable of regulating itself, legislation by the Scottish Government is the only way of giving consumers adequate protection."

And BAPRAS said it was "concerned about the rapid growth of cosmetic surgery and cosmetic treatments without proper regulation".

Undercover Which? investigators posed as potential patients at 16 clinics and experts assessed transcripts of the consultations. They found marketing techniques such as imposing deadlines and offering "buy one get one free" deals were used to hurry the "client" into agreeing to a procedure.

This was despite industry guidelines stating patients should have a two-week cooling-off period, and banning time-limited incentives.

They also discovered non-medical staff were giving "inappropriate and inaccurate advice despite industry guidelines stating that practitioners must properly assess the patient's suitability for treatment and undertake outpatient consultations".

And they found staff making false or misleading claims about treatments – for example the lifespan of breast implants or the length of time botox would last.

Some clinic staff described invasive surgery as "scarless" or a "minor procedure" – and one sales assistant even showed her breasts to a researcher in order to make a sale.

There were wider problems about misinformation, such as practitioners being "unacceptably vague" about their qualifications. According to Which?, "it was sometimes unclear whether they had specialist expertise in the procedure being sought".

"Some of the marketing tactics we found are obviously intended to encourage people to have more surgery than they may want and need," it added.

The clinics investigated were all in England and Wales, but Which? said its findings were equally applicable to Scotland.

Ms Driscoll said: "As in England and Wales, consumers in Scotland are currently not offered sufficient protection by weak and patchy regulation of the cosmetic-treatments industry. Opting for a cosmetic treatment is not a decision to be taken lightly so people should always consult their GP and do their research before deciding on what treatment is right for them.

"We've set up an online guide where people can get independent advice about different cosmetic treatments – what they involve, what the medical terms mean, and what the risks are."

Hamish Laing, a consultant plastic surgeon and member of BAPRAS, said: "We are concerned about the rapid growth of cosmetic surgery and cosmetic treatments without proper regulation.

"Our members are heavily regulated and answerable to the General Medical Council for their practice: the idea that self-regulation for other practitioners' work has been shown, yet again, to be untrue."

Theresa Fyffe, Royal College of Nurses (RCN) Scotland director, said: "RCN Scotland believe that all persons who advise patients about cosmetic surgery should be qualified nurses or doctors to raise standards but also, more importantly, to improve patient safety and enable potential patients to make more informed choices and better protect themselves from harm. The RCN Scotland also supports changes in practice and regulation to better protect patients."

The plastic-surgery industry has boomed over the past decade and is now worth at least £906 million in the UK. The latest research shows one in five UK adults would consider plastic surgery, and Britons put themselves through a total of 577,000 cosmetic operations in 2007, up from 300,000 just two years ago.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "Cosmetic procedures in the NHS are regulated, but we agree that it is important for people getting private-sector cosmetic procedures to be protected as well.

"In Scotland, a significant proportion of cosmetic surgery is carried out in independent hospitals which have been regulated by the Care Commission since April 2002. Non-surgical procedures such as botox or facial fillers outwith independent hospitals are not regulated. However, work is in hand to consider the possible regulation of various forms of such treatments."

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health at Westminster said: "It is vital that the public inform themselves fully of the potential risks and consequences of such treatments.

"People undertake these cosmetic procedures by choice, privately. There is a balance to be struck as to how far the taxpayer should be expected to pay for the regulation and policing of the regulation for such procedures."

'It is not the taboo that it might once have been'

IT WAS once an extreme measure, sought out in shameful secret by the very wealthy who would lie about it afterwards.

But, over the years, the prices have dropped, the stigma has lifted and cosmetic surgery has become another opiate of the masses.

Men and women alike are nipping out in their lunch breaks for a spot of Botox, and the sought-after anniversary gift for many wives seems to be a new pair of breasts.

The vehicle in which it was driven into the mainstream was perhaps television.

Both documentary and, more recently, drama programming has featured eyewatering procedures – from Extreme Makeover to Nip/Tuck.

In their quest for eternal youth, Britons have put themselves through a total of 577,000 cosmetic operations and treatments last year, up from only 300,000 in two years.

The market is now worth just over £900 million, more than double from 2005.

Anything you do not like, you can change – your nose, your wrinkles, your teeth, your tummy – the list is endless.

And you can even do it abroad, with Scottish firms such as Dubai Surgery organising trips to the sun with a scalpel and surgeon included.

If there was any doubt that plastic surgery was well and truly social acceptable today, a new survey from Saga has blown it away.

The poll of 7,800 over-50s found 26 per cent of the women had already had cosmetic surgery, or would be willing to do so – although this dropped to 9 per cent of the men questioned.

Saga Magazine editor Emma Soames said: "Cosmetic surgery is not such a taboo as it might once have been, and for the over-50s it is certainly an option."

LIFE-THREATENING RISKS

THE potential cost of risky cosmetic surgery is one which even the rich and famous cannot pay – as demonstrated by the case of Denise Hendry.

The wife of former Scotland football captain Colin was in a coma for five weeks in 2002 after a failed liposuction operation at the private Broughton Park Hospital in Preston.

Her bowel and colon had been perforated nine times.

The injuries caused blood poisoning which led to multi-organ failure, including a cardiac arrest which stopped her heart for four minutes.

She claimed damages against surgeon Gustaf Aniansson and accepted a six-figure out-of-court settlement from his insurers, then the UK's biggest cosmetic surgery compensation payout.

The former hairdresser from Dundee originally decided on the procedure to regain her figure after having four children.

She said afterwards: "I have never been a selfish person. But this was one thing I wanted to do for myself.

"I felt so bad when I thought Colin could have lost his wife, my children would have lost their mother, my mum and dad lost a daughter and my sister would have lost her sister.

"I felt overwhelming guilt at how stupid I had been. The only emotion I felt was guilt."

Mrs Hendry was readmitted to hospital last year after a recurrence of the illness.