WE are saddened to hear the tragic news about the unfortunate death of a young lady, reportedly following a liposuction procedure at a non-medical premises, which is therefore not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health.
We wish to emphasise that there are existing guidelines on aesthetic medical practice by the Ministry of Health, which has already been in governance since 2013.
It is clearly spelt out in the guidelines that liposuction is an invasive surgical procedure, which should only be performed by trained surgeons, namely, plastic surgeons and surgical specialists who have been credentialled and privileged.
These guidelines also govern other groups of doctors, including general practitioners offering aesthetic practice who are not surgeons by training and are therefore not allowed to perform liposuction.
The College of Surgeons, Academy of Medicine Malaysia, together with the Malaysian Association of Plastic, Aesthetic and Craniomaxillofacial Surgeons, through the CSAMM-MAPACS Joint Committee for Aesthetic Medical/Surgical Practice, worked extensively and contributed significantly to the Ministry of Health’s Guidelines on Aesthetic Medical Practice by Registered Medical Practitioners, which was published and launched in 2013.
The development of these guidelines was initiated by the ministry in response to similar tragic incidents.
As professional surgical bodies working in unison, we have always considered patient safety of utmost importance.
We, therefore, urge the authority which regulates beauty premises to enforce the clear and strict delineation between permissible non-invasive and prohibited invasive cosmetic procedures.
We would also encourage the public to check the credentials of such service providers.
The National Specialist Registry lists all credentialled specialists in the country, and can be accessed at: https://www.nsr.org.my/list11.asp
Professor Dr April Roslani
President
College of Surgeons
Academy of Medicine Malaysia
