Friday 17 October 2008

Australian Surgeon Issues Warning

BRISBANE: A leading local plastic surgeon is warning against the dangers of under-qualified doctors, claiming rogue operators are on the rise in the CBD.

Dr Andrew Broadhurst, 40, a fully accredited plastic surgeon with five years’ experience, runs Enhance Plastic Surgery in Fortitude Valley.

A member of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), Dr Broadhurst believes up to 50 per cent of practising doctors are under-qualified to be performing serious cosmetic or plastic surgery.

“Yes, there are a lot of rogue operators out there,” he said.

“It (dangerous surgery) happens all day, every day it happens everywhere.

“The results of defective, ill-informed or falsely advertised surgery can be devastating and many patients feel cheated by the system because an under-qualified doctor or glamorous advertisement coerced them.”

Dr Broadhurst said the lucrative nature of plastic surgery procedures, such as breast implants, saw many rogue operators rush to perform them.

“There is a vast difference between an actual plastic surgeon and what can be termed cosmetic doctors,” he said.

“A plastic surgeon has more extensive education and training.

“While unfortunately anyone with a medical degree can perform cosmetic surgery in Australia, it actually takes seven years of specialisation on top of your degree to qualify as a full plastic surgeon.”

He said his average client was aged 20-50, many of whom were ill-informed.

“It’s not your Ascot-Hamilton set it’s your average Joe Blow off the street getting all these procedures,” Dr Broadhurst said.

An ASPS spokeswoman echoed Dr Broadhurst’s concerns about under-qualified doctors, but said Queensland was the only state in Australia where to use the term “plastic surgeon” you had to be qualified as one.