The Irish Association of Plastic Surgeons (IAPS) said this week’s conviction of a beautician for performing illegal Botox treatments highlighted the need for stronger regulation.
The woman, who is from Russia, had also unlawfully imported the drug that is usually injected into facial muscles and is subject to prescription control.
The IAPS released a statement at the beginning of September pointing out it had repeatedly made representations to both the medical authorities and to politicians to tighten up the entire area of medical beauty treatments.
As the law stands, someone with no medical training can inject fillers into a person’s face. “How many times must we ask for stronger regulation before there is a fatality,” the IAPS asked.
IAPS president, Dr Margaret O’Donnell, said the scandal had gone on for far too long.
“Vulnerable people are being damaged because the authorities, for reasons we cannot understand, will not regulate the industry better and enforce what regulations there are,” said Dr O’Donnell.
“We have issued warning after warning about unqualified and untrained people performing procedures that should require years of training,” she confirmed.
“If you don’t understand the anatomy of what’s going on under the skin; if you haven’t studied the pharmacy behind every aspect of what a filler or ‘Botox’-type products can do to the body, then you are putting patients at risk.”
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