Botox and Dermal Fillers

What should you do when considering anti-wrinkle (Botox) or Dermal fillers?

Is the person who is doing the botox or dermal filler injections qualified? In Australia the only people who should be doing your procedures are doctors, dentists or registered nurses who have had the appropriate training.

How do you tell if the person has the qualifications? What you do is Google the letters after their name. For example doctors often have MB BS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) after their name. A dermatologist will have F.A.C.D. (Fellow of the Australasian College of Dermatologists) like me after my name. A dermatologist is a medical doctor with additional specialist training. The specialist training often takes additional 10 years after general medical training in the hospital.

How do you find out if the person has the appropriate training to do botox and dermal fillers? Ask the person.
The more they do the better they are at doing that procedure. Dermatologists, plastic surgeons and cosmetic physicians (GPs with additional skills in aesthetic procedures) are often the most skilled. However many registered nurses are also very skilled particularly those that work alongside dermatologists such as my nurse Ezgi and plastic surgeons. These nurses often receive incredibly good training, education and support from the dermatologist or plastic surgeon they work with.

What happens if you experience a complication? Doctors are the most skilled in dealing with situations. If you need a prescription only doctors can write a prescription. You need to think of all the possible complications and scenarios when considering aesthetic procedures.

Hopefully if you consider all the above points you will be making an educated and informed decision who you choose.

At the recent NSS held in June, the Australasian Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ASAPS) invited a representative from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to share with us an update on the important work they were doing targeting unapproved and counterfeit medicines and medical devices.

TGA encourages reporting of illegal cosmetic injectables

The TGA encourages the reporting of unregistered operators, undertaking illegal cosmetic injectable procedures in Australia. These reports can prevent potentially serious consequences and safeguard the health of the Australian community.

Injectable cosmetic treatments are considered medical procedures and may be performed by qualified medical practitioners, registered dentists in certain jurisdictions, trained nurse practitioners and cosmetic registered nurses supervised by a doctor. Clinical governance structures support evidence-based best practice.

Cosmetic injectable products are regulated as Schedule 4 substances. This means they must be prescribed by an accredited professional, and can only be stored and administered by qualified, authorised practitioners. The TGA regulates all medicines and medical devices imported into, supplied in, or exported from Australia under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989. Unless a specific exemption applies, a therapeutic good must be entered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG), or it cannot be supplied in Australia. Targeting legislative non-compliance disrupts the illegal trading of unapproved and counterfeit therapeutic goods in the domestic market.

If you suspect non-compliance, you can notify the TGA anonymously by emailing ECT@health.gov.au or by calling 1800 020 653. You can also report illegal or questionable practices online, including suspected supply of counterfeit medicines and devices. Information provided should include sufficient details for further enquires to be undertaken.

Advertising complaints can also be made online. Any person, including businesses, must comply with the TGA requirements when advertising cosmetic injections.

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28 Aug 2019