Appearance medicine doctors in New Zealand are calling for better regulation around dermal fillers to prevent further botched cosmetic procedures.
The New Zealand Society of Cosmetic Medicine (NZSCM) is circulating a petition, which already has thousands of signatures, that urges the government to review the new Therapeutic Products Bill after dermal fillers, and lasers, continue to be excluded from regulation – allowing any untrained and unqualified person to use them.
When injected by highly trained professionals, dermal fillers can improve appearance and self-confidence, however when in untrained hands they can result in permanent damage including blindness.
Dr Catherine Stone, founder of The Face Place, says it’s disheartening to hear that dermal fillers and lasers will continue not to be regulated as medicine under the proposed act.
“The classification of dermal fillers and lasers changed from ''medicine" to "medical device" in 2014, which means that there are currently no legal restrictions on who can use them,” Dr Stone says.
“This has resulted in a number of incidents where women and men have come to my clinic asking to fix botched cosmetic procedures after receiving work from individuals with no medical training or background in appearance medicine.
Earlier this year, we had a woman come into our clinic with a severely disfigured and swollen face after she self-injected dermal filler that she had purchased over the internet into her face. We are working closely with this patient to best minimise the damage, but she may be left with some permanent lumps and lesions.
This really highlights how important it is that people are only injected with dermal fillers by highly trained professionals who use reputable products.”
Dr Ellen Selkon of Clinic 42, who is on the Executive Committee of the NZSCM and one of the doctors driving the petition, says change is needed to ensure public safety.
“All over the world regulatory bodies are reverting back to making fillers only injectable by healthcare professionals, and in some countries they are even making them medicines again to make them only purchasable by a medical doctor,” Dr Selkon says.
“We are asking that they change the legislation to make them only usable by healthcare professionals who have been adequately trained in the field of cosmetic medicine.”
Jenni Ryan, CEO at Skin Institute Group, agrees the key to preventing serious complications is to regulate the use of dermal fillers.
Skin Institute appearance medicine doctors have been campaigning for stronger regulation within New Zealand and have been acting to improve safety standards for years, she says. "We have educated our team with the latest techniques, developed policies to minimise any risks, and undertake continual training to ensure adherence to the highest standards."
The petition can be found here.
