UK cosmetic report relevant to Australia

A MAJOR UK report that attempts to tame the under-regulated, rapidly growing cosmetic intervention industry is relevant to Australia, a leading surgeon says.

The UK Keogh report, released on Wednesday, found most people who have cosmetic interventions take their safety for granted but large swathes of the non-surgical sector are "almost entirely unregulated".

Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons president Geoff Lyons said Australia is ahead of the UK in some respects, but local practitioners and politicians should get behind the thrust of the report.

"What it's about is trying to increase the safety of people undergoing cosmetic surgery, either being non-invasive or invasive, and that's what we're all about," Dr Lyons told AAP.

He said legislation was failing to keep up with the rapidly growing industry.

"There needs to be an ongoing understanding from the government this is a rapidly changing area," Dr Lyons said.

The Keogh report was commissioned in response to the Poly Implant Protheses (PIP) implant scandal, which it said had exposed "woeful lapses" in product quality, patient care and record keeping.

An estimated 300,000 women in 65 countries are believed to have received the PIP implants, which some health authorities say are twice as likely to rupture as other brands.

British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) president Graeme Perks said the PIP crisis had stirred fear over other "fillers".

"Having a bit of filler doesn't seem to be a big deal but if it goes wrong the consequences are disastrous," Dr Perks said.

In the UK, nine out of 10 cosmetic interventions are non-surgical, according to the report.

"We were surprised to discover that non-surgical interventions ... are almost entirely unregulated," it said.

It recommended all dermal fillers be made prescription only and all practitioners be properly qualified for the procedures they offer.

Dr Lyons said that in Australia, many of the injectable interventions, like Botox, are classed as S4 drugs and can only be prescribed by a doctor.

But he admitted more could be done.

"There's area for further reform but these are now S4 drugs," he said.

In comparison, laser skin treatments are less regulated, he said.

"Pressure's afoot to regulate that industry more closely," Dr Lyons said.

He said the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons would support closer monitoring of those items.

Dr Perks said, in the UK, parts of the industry were resistant to regulation.

"The problem is, if plastic surgeons speak out and say 'this is unsafe we don't think it's a good idea', the people who aren't plastic surgeons cry foul," he said.

Dr Lyons said Australia could benefit from the report's work.

"We should be looking to make sure the people doing these procedures are properly trained," he said.

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