Botched Surgery

 Nip and tuck at your own risk

By LOH FOON FONG
foonfong@thestar.com.my

The Star Online (15-6-2013)

PETALING JAYA: Any kind of surgery bears some risk but for cosmetic procedures, the brunt of it is borne by the person who chooses to undergo it. An unqualified person who performs cosmetic surgery or non-surgical procedures cannot be made to face criminal charges even if the patient dies or is disfigured as a result of a botched job.

There are no direct laws now to prevent such cases from happening or to bring the unscrupulous to book, although the Health Ministry has powers to act under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act (PHFSA) 1998 and also the Medical Act 1971 if doctors are found to be involved.

Fomca deputy president Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah said such risks must be stopped, adding that unqualified persons who carry out such procedures should face criminal charges. “How can someone without a medical background take a scalpel and cut into a person?” he asked. Muhammad Sha'ani said stringent action should also be taken against doctors who performed such procedures despite not being trained in the field. He said the death of Jane Lim Mei Jiuan, 46, last Saturday should alert the authorities to act.

Lim, a mother of two who underwent a breast enlargement surgery at a beauty clinic here, reportedly died after complications during the operation.

Muhammad Sha'ani said the Health Ministry recently released guidelines on aesthetic medicine should be made enforceable by law. Noting the use of misleading advertising, inappropriate marketing and unsafe practices, he said the ministry also must also regulate the promotion of cosmetic treatments.

Ratna Devi Nadarajan, CEO of the Malaysian Association of Standards Users, urged punitive measures against violators to be incorporated in a Bill governing beauty salon operators. A task of the association is to establish awareness on the importance of standards for the safety of consumers and sustainability of industries.

Ratna said the ministry should maintain a list of blacklisted practitioners on its website, stressing that any laws enforced must have administrative measures that promote compliance.

Medical Defence Malaysia director Dr Milton Lum said no authority was governing beauty salon operators.

“The Health Ministry and the Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry have to come up with some measures to oversee these centres. If there are no regulations, the centres will do anything they like,” he said.

He said the people should also be better educated on choosing the beauticians in seeking such treatments.

Dr Chin Shih Choon, president of the Malaysian Society of Aesthetic Medicine, advised people to be more careful in picking doctors for cosmetic procedures.

He said for liposuction, the procedure was usually done by a plastic surgeon in a hospital.

“It should not be undertaken by an untrained doctor because complications could result from the use of the general anaesthetic, from a fat embolism (which happens when fatty tissue blocks an artery or capillaries of organs) or from a perforated organ,” he said.

Dr Chin said he had been receiving about two or three patients with complications resulting from botched cosmetic procedures each month.

Related:
Woman dies after breast enlargement op (Star Online, 13-6-2013)
Beauty centre and clinic found closed (Star Online, 15-6-2013)
Ministry has power to take action (Star Online, 15-6-2013)