Weight Loss Surgery Commericals - Coming to the UK any day soon?

We see endless TV adverts relating to healthy eating, various diet plans or fitness videos, but I wonder how long it will be before we see advertisements for more drastic measures such as obesity or bariatric surgery (like the one below) on UK television screens?

With a recent new report predicting that eight out of 10 men and almost seven in 10 women will be overweight or obese by 2020, and estimates that there are already more men who are obese than who are of a healthy weight – my bet is that it won’t be too long!

The Mad, Mad World of Medical Aesthetics

It has been reported  that a company in Doncaster is once again offering botulinum toxin training to Beauty Therapists. The training courses are advertised on the company website as being available to any beauty therapist of NVQ level 3 or equivalent.

The fact that this is allowed to happen demonstrates the ridiculous lack of legislation in this country regarding medical aesthetics. In the majority of European countries, botulinum toxin is only allowed to be administered by Doctors. Lasers are, in most European countries, only allowed to be used by Doctors, dermal fillers are, in most European countries, only allowed to be administered by Doctors. In the UK it seems that we are happy to allow anybody to administer these procedures without any protection from the government or governing bodies!

Mr McGrath may comment: “I think the medical fraternity out there do not like it because [beauty therapists] are stealing the profits of course, it is a very greedy industry", but that is a ridiculous statement to make. The majority of people involved in the Aesthetic Industry are shocked that this can be allowed.

Sleep Support for Your Breasts - A novel solution or waste of plastic?

A few weeks ago I was contacted by the UK distributor of a new product called the Kush™ aimed at “women with larger breasts who sleep on their side”. At first glance it certainly seemed like a “niche” product, but as Cathinka Chandler, CEO of Kush explains on her US website www.kushsupport.com:

With an open mind!, and to see if it really would be a “dream come true”, I enthusiastically requested a couple of samples (they come in different sizes and colours) and asked my wife, who fits the profile of the target market, to trial them.

Glory Above Credibility?

Last week I was privileged to be invited to attend a global experts meeting in Miami for a leading dermal filler company. Being the only UK doctor, I was quite apprehensive as the delegate list included doctors whose work I have admired and whose research has paved the way forward for the aesthetic speciality. The meeting was extremely educational on numerous levels and I felt I was able to contribute effectively on several topics.

However I was awestruck by the amount of research each of the American doctors had carried out to help advance our knowledge. The US Food & Drugs Administration (FDA) comes under a lot of criticism there, like the Care Quality Commission has done here in the UK, but what the FDA does create, is a culture to provide good evidence based medicine, more akin to NICE (National Institute of Clinical Excellence) here in the UK.

In the US, the doctors strive to have work published in the peer-reviewed medical journals, and to have recognition from their colleagues from around the world.

This culture is in stark contrast to how the British cosmetic doctors practice.

First came Teen Tanorexics, now comes the rise of Teen Toxing

Reports in the press this week have highlighted the story of Hannah Burge, daughter of the Real Life or Human Barbie who has become the youngest known person to receive injections of botulinum toxin at the age of 15 whilst on holiday in Spain, with her mother Sarah’s full consent.

Sarah Burge, who holds the world record for the most cosmetic procedures, states that she is a fully qualified aesthetic practitioner, despite her lack of formal medical training and beautician status. She is now performing continued treatments on her daughter now 16 years of age, with half the usual dosage given to adults, which she believes will prevent her developing wrinkles in the future.