NEWS AND ANALYSIS

Cosmetic surgery petition calls for legislation to protect the public from cosmetic cowboys

Cosmetic surgery should only be performed by surgeons on the GMC Specialist Register in a relevant area, e.g. plastic surgery. That’s the call being made by The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (The BAAPS) as it launches a petition to raise surgical safety standards in the UK.

Nearly a decade after the Keogh review highlighted substandard practices and the plight of the 39,000 women who suffered during the PIP crisis. There is still no legislation to define who can perform cosmetic surgery in the UK.

The BAAPS is rallying behind the call that appropriately trained surgeons should appear on the General Medical Council’s (GMC) Specialist Register, giving patients a “triple whammy” of protection.

Legislation to check the GMC Specialist Register in a relevant area, e.g. plastic surgery, will clarify the distinction between surgeons who are fully trained to a consultant level.

It will ensure that surgeons operating will have access to adequate medical insurance, which is not available to practitioners who are not on the Specialist Register. The register allows surgeons access to work in premises equipped to perform the procedure and treat serious complications should they occur.

BAAPS Vice President Marc Pacifico said, “Legislation that will clarify the distinction between providers to safeguard the public from serious complications at the hands of untrained and unregulated practitioners is long overdue.

Legislation to ensure a surgeon is on the GMC Specialist Register will transform patient safety in the UK. Currently, there is more legislation to protect your dog while having surgery than to protect a patient undergoing a cosmetic operation.”

BAAPS president Mary O’Brien said, “There is a need to stop non-surgeons carrying out cosmetic surgery, which this petition should help achieve. The general public and Government need a clear distinction between who is allowed to perform this type of surgery and who is not.

The legislation would mean surgeons from abroad could not fly into the UK, perform a cosmetic surgery operation on a patient and then fly out. If we get the signatures and legislation, this could make the biggest difference to patient safety in cosmetic surgery ever seen in the UK.”

To sign the petition and support BAAPS, visit: https://www. change.org/TheBAAPSPetition

ASA calls out aesthetics firm for advertising Biotin jabs on Facebook

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) issued a landmark ruling against aesthetics firm Secret Surgery Aesthetics for illegally advertising Biotin injections on Facebook.

The ruling comes weeks after the authority’s sister organisation, the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP), released a bitesize series around the ad rules for non-surgical cosmetic interventions.

A post on Secret Surgery Aesthetics’ Facebook page, seen on May 30 2022, featured an image of a woman’s hairline alongside text promoting the treatment and an offer to book a course of six jabs for £150.

The post prompted, a Trustee of the Joint Council of Cosmetic Practitioners (JCCP), to issue a complaint to the ASA, challenging whether the ad breached the Code as it advertised a prescriptiononly medicine to the public.

Despite being touted in the media and amongst consumers, Biotin has no proven efficacy in hair and nail growth of healthy individuals.

Secret Surgery Aesthetics said they had been unaware that under the advertising code, Biotin jabs could not be advertised to the public and stated they had made some changes to their advertising.

“The CAP Code stated that prescription-only medicines or prescription-only medical treatments must not be advertised to the public,” said the ASA speaking of their assessment of the ruling.

“The ASA understood that all licensed forms of injectable Biotin were prescription-only medicines.

“The ad, which was visible to anyone visiting Secret Surgery’s Facebook page, invited consumers to book Biotin injections. We therefore considered that it promoted a prescription-only medicine to the general public and concluded that it breached the Code.”

The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 12.12 which states that Prescription-only medicines, medical treatments and medical devices may not be advertised to the public.

“The ad must not appear again in the form complained of,” said the ASA. “We told Secret Surgery Aesthetics not to promote prescription-only medicines to the general public in future.”

In a Facebook post about the “landmark ruling,” aesthetics industry regulation campaigner and JCCP lay chair, Dawn Knight, stated that “ignorance is no excuse” for such breaches of the Code. “Please be careful when you’re vulnerable seeking out non-surgical cosmetic interventions,” she warned.

British College of Aesthetic Medicine (BCAM) appoints Catherine Fairris as president

Dr Catherine Fairris, director of the Wessex Skin Clinic in Winchester, has been appointed president of the British College of Aesthetic Medicine (BCAM).

Dr Fairris has been on the BCAM board since 2019 and took over the direction of education and events in 2020 before becoming vice president of the association in February this year. She has overseen virtual educational sessions and two virtual conferences in this role.

“I feel so honoured to be given this opportunity to hold the role of BCAM president. I feel strongly that BCAM’s ethos of striving to advance safe and ethical aesthetic practice is the key to improving standards across the aesthetic sector,” said Dr Fairris.

“I am hopeful that during my tenure of the presidency, BCAM will play a pivotal role in the implementation of a register of aesthetic practitioners, a crucial step in introducing more robust regulation within aesthetic medicine.”

Dr Gout, director of the London Aesthetic Medicine clinic on Harley Street, who handed over the presidential role to Dr Fairris, is moving on to pursue global evidencebased education and collaboration. As well as serving as a Center for Corporate Reporting (CCR) advisory board member, she has recently joined the faculty for the Masters in Aesthetic Medicine at University College London (UCL).

“BCAM has a long heritage, and I would like to recognise the hard work of the founders, past presidents, board, committees and the wider team,” said Dr Gout.

“I am grateful to have had the opportunity to devote more than six years to BCAM, and I look forward to watching future developments.”

“No excuse for illegal ads” -CAP releases bitesize series on ad rules for the cosmetic industry

In a bid to educate the cosmetics industry on the rules for nonsurgical cosmetic interventions, the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) have released a series of freely available bitesize videos.

The short and easy-to-digest videos are designed to help small and medium-sized businesses “get their ads right the first time.”

CAP is the sister organisation of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and is responsible for writing the Advertising Codes.

The series focuses on non-surgical cosmetic procedures, such as injectables, dermaplaning, teeth whitening, and microneedling and is aimed at beauticians, dentists and other practitioners offering these kinds of treatments.

Broken down into five videos, the series covers new targeting rules for ads for non-surgical cosmetic interventions, the key principles for creating socially responsible ads, the rules for before and after photos and production techniques, how to avoid misleading advertising claims and the advertising rules for botulinum toxin.

Small businesses struggle to grow as costs increase

New data has shown that the majority of small businesses expect no or negative growth next year due to rocketing operating costs and ongoing recruitment issues.

The Federation of Small Businesses’ (FSB) Small Business Index report for Q2 2022 found growth expectations are down, and cost pressures are weighing heavily on small firms.

The combined proportion of small firms that predict that they will stay the same size (38.7%) or downsize or even close their business (14.7%), at 53.4%, outweighs the 46.6% who predict they will grow in the coming 12 months.

The FSB research showed that small businesses’ growth predictions coincided with the highest-recorded proportion of firms saying their costs are higher than a year ago, at 89%, and with the highest level of producer price inflation for four decades in June.

South Korea to remain fastest growing aesthetics market in APAC, says GlobalData

South Korea is the fastest growing aesthetics market in Asia-Pacific (APAC), according to leading data and analytics company, GlobalData.

GlobalData’s research reveals that South Korea’s aesthetic device market, which accounted for 11% of the APAC in 2021, is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 7% between 2022 and 2030.

The country is expected to retain this position in the future, augmented as a result of continuous innovation, growing demand for beauty, and increased spending on aesthetic enhancement.

Ayshi Ganguly, Medical Devices Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “In South Korea, external appearance is considered very important to attain societal and professional success, and this creates pressure on both women and men to transform their physical appearance. The demand for affordable and quality cosmetic procedures and products is leading to advancements in this field.”

In addition to physiognomy, social media and K-pop are also playing a major role in driving the aesthetics market in South Korea, as they influence individuals to enhance their beauty to look like their favourite celebrities.

Merz Aesthetics announces collaboration with Dr Esho and Ecademy

Merz Aesthetics has announced a collaboration between its Ecademy and Dr Tijion Esho. The Merz Aesthetics Ecademy is an advanced clinical e-learning platform enabling healthcare practitioners (HCPs) to access more than 100 injection technique, facial assessment and treatment planning videos. Using artificial intelligence, Ecademy delivers tailored CPD-accredited medical aesthetics education, which can be accessed easily and on the go, 24-7. Commenting on the partnership, Dr Esho said, “For me, there are never enough hours in the day, so as a busy practitioner, having Ecademy really helps me. There’s never been anything like this in the industry before. Ecademy is a game-changer when it comes to online learning platforms and allows access to so much content at your fingertips wherever you are. From 1-1 tutorials delivered by leading experts, to injection technique videos in high resolution, all modules are CPD accredited, helping ongoing learning, revalidation and progress as a medical injector. It’s free advanced learning for your own progression and who doesn’t want that?” Maria Rodrigues, digital brand manager at Merz Aesthetics, added, “The team at Merz Aesthetics is very excited about the collaboration with Dr Esho. We are immensely proud of our Ecademy platform and how it supports HCPs with its intuitive learning solutions, contributing to their professional development and at the same time, we are helping to improve patient outcomes and experiences.” Visit www.ecademy.co.uk to find out more.

Dr Patrick Treacy publishes new book on the prevention and management of aesthetic complications

A new textbook authored by Dr Patrick Trecay and featuring contributions from more than 20 world-leading experts around the management and prevention of aesthetic complications has now been published.

Covering all aspects of aesthetic medicine, including botulinum, dermal fillers, threads, lasers, and problems related to specific anatomical regions, Prevention and Management of Aesthetic Complications can be purchased directly from the publishers Minevra Medica and currently through all European Amazon sites, except Amazon UK and Amazon US. UK-based contributors include Dr Beatriz Molina, Dr Martyn King, Mr Taimur Shoaib and Dr Christopher Rowland-Payne.

The publisher’s description reads: “As the popularity of soft tissue fillers increases, so do the reports of adverse events. The most serious complications are vascular in nature and, unfortunately, include the possibility of blindness. It is critical for injecting physicians to have a firm knowledge of vascular anatomy and to understand key prevention and management strategies, hence, the need for this book.”

Dermal fillers market size to hit $8.74 billion by 2029

The global dermal fillers market size is expected to reach $8.74 billion (£7.65bn) by 2029, at a CAGR of 7.4% during the forecast period, 2022-2029, according to Fortune Business Insights.

The report titled Dermal Fillers Market Forecast, 2022-2029 explores industry development, driving factors, the impact of Covid-19, regional growth and key players.

Increasing investment in the R&D sector of the medical cosmetics industry is expected to promote the dermal fillers market growth, the report suggests.

Furthermore, the rising trend and popularity of filler treatment over the years has increased dramatically. A report by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) in 2019 estimated that 4,315,859 procedures involving hyaluronic acid fillers were conducted worldwide in 2019.

This number increased by 15.7% over the previous year of 2018. Such a dramatic increase in such procedures is anticipated to propel market growth, the report says.

North America is expected to remain at the forefront and hold the highest position market during the forecast period owing to the high disposable income of people in the region.

Asia Pacific is expected to showcase a significant managed services market share. This is attributable to the increasing consciousness of the individuals regarding their physical appearance in the region.

For instance, in July 2020, South Korea’s LG Chem announced that they had initiated the clinical trial of a premium dermal filler called YVOIRE Y-Solution in China. Its launch is expected to promote the regional market during the forecast period.

Aesthetic Medicine announces partnership with Dr Uche Tear Trough Training

Aesthetic Medicine has forged a new partnership with Dr Uche Aniagwu and the Dr Uche Tear Trough Training academy. The partnership aligns Aesthetic Medicine with one of the leading tear-trough injectors in the UK and will help the brand support its medical audience further. Dr Uche, who is a regular speaker at AM Live’s events, runs innovative CPD-accredited courses to help aesthetic medical practitioners to become more confident tear trough injectors. Find out more at https://druche.academy. cast period.

Cigdem Kemal Yilmaz launches Skin Masterclass

A new digital skincare management training and licensing program that allows skin and skincare professionals to double their skincare revenue and consultation bookings has launched in the UK.

Skin Masterclass® is a two-day, CPD-certified training course ideal for skin and skincare professionals wishing to upskill their skincare knowledge and upscale their business potential independent of brand affiliations.

Founded by chemical engineer, skincare formulator and consultant Cigdem Kemal Yilmaz, the course has been expressly designed for professionals with a specialist interest in skincare.

She said, “I’m thrilled to introduce Skin Masterclass® to UK aesthetic professionals, giving them in-depth, high-quality skincare training that will simultaneously increase their knowledge and business potential.

“Patients are increasingly becoming more knowledgeable about products and ingredients, and it’s essential that their post-treatment skincare prescriptions encapsulate their personal and lifestyle needs.

Living in a digital-first world means that business practices are constantly evolving, and aesthetic businesses can benefit from a digital consultation approach that can potentially open their doors to a wider patient base.”