Some 9,000 doctors without official qualifications perform plastic, aesthetic and reconstructive surgery in Spain, according to the new president of the Spanish Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery(SECPRE), Dr. Miguel Chamosa Martín, who has also stated that the demand for breast augmentation is decreasing as a result of the economic crisis.
Intrusiveness in Plastic Surgery: don’t put your safety in the hands of just anyone
For this expert, cosmetic surgery should only be performed by specialists in this field and alludes to the Supreme Court ruling of 15/07/05, which stated that “The aesthetic surgery corresponds to the doctors who hold the official title of specialist in Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery”.
“We put up with a lot of actions of other doctors who do their dabbling,” said Chamosa Martín, who regretted that there is a belief that “any doctor can do anything”.
As established by the SECPRE, this specialty is NOT equivalent to courses, masters or workshops in aesthetic surgery, as these do not provide the training, education or sufficient duration for the qualification to practice this specialty.
In this sense, the president of SECPRE has given as an example the regulation established in the field of dentistry where “nobody” who is not a dentist “dares” to remove, for example, a cavity. “The law regulating cosmetic surgery in Spain is a demand that has not been met,” he lamented.
For this reason, these professionals recommend that patients who are thinking of undergoing cosmetic surgery require the doctor to have the official title of specialist in Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery.
Likewise, the decalogue of advice of the society establishes that, from the first visit, the patient should be examined, assessed and informed by the plastic surgeon who is going to operate on him/her, and that he/she should be wary of free informative visits and commercial offers.
Also, the intervention must be performed in a hospital or clinic that has all the necessary resources to deal with any possible emergency situation. In addition, it must be performed in an operating room and with all the corresponding hygienic and safety measures.
These experts also advise that, prior to the procedure, the physician should have the necessary tests: electrocardiogram, blood and urine tests, chest x-ray and, in some cases, ultrasound and mammography.
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