The Spanish Society of Aesthetic Medicine (SEME) has for years been warning of the serious crisis for patient safety that our country is experiencing with regard to medical-aesthetic treatments, mainly due to the continuous crimes of professional intrusion committed by intruders and negligent individuals. And so he insisted once again at the press conference held today on the occasion of the presentation of the 40th National Congress and the 24th World Congress of Cosmetic Medicine, which will bring together more than 4,500 doctors from 13 to 15 February at the Palacio de Congresos in Malaga.
In the latest independent report on the perception of the sector in Spain promoted by the medical society and based on 1501 interviews representative of the Spanish population (48.91 PT3T men and 51.11 PT3T women) these are the most striking data:
- 47% of the population has undergone a medical aesthetic treatment at some time..
- The 65% of medical-aesthetic treatments are carried out by unqualified professionals.
- The 20% of these procedures are carried out in unregulated locations (non-accredited centres, hairdressing salons or homes)
- 22% of the Spanish population does not know what aesthetic medicine is.
- Only 7% of respondents were aware that procedures such as neuromodulator infiltration or lasers are for medical use only.
To help patients make informed decisions and to safeguard their identity image, the medical society has launched the information campaign www.tucarayanomesuena.es
"Citizens will be able to enter this website and find out all the information they need to consider before undergoing treatment," said the Dr. Sergio FernándezSEME's second vice-president.
Operation Kalopsia. We need urgent measures to curb intrusiveness.
The Spanish Society of Aesthetic Medicine (SEME) has denounced on multiple occasions the growth of intrusion in this sector, warning about the dangers of people without medical training performing aesthetic procedures without health control. The president of SEME, Dr. Juan Antonio López Pitalúa said: "Operation Kalopsia confirms our suspicions about the existence of illegal networks that compromise patient safety and put patients' health at risk.
In this operation, more than 700 vials of botulinum toxin of illegal origin were seized, as well as other materials used in facial and body treatments. Many of these products had been fraudulently imported from South Korea, without proper authorisation from the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS).
In order to shed light on this case, the Pharmacy Inspectorate of the Andalusian Regional Government, the Pharmacy Inspectorate of Madrid and SEME also collaborated.
"The consequences can be lethal. We are talking about introducing illegal substances into our body that we don't know what they are. A 15% of the people who come for the first time to have an aesthetic procedure or to consult us, come after suffering side effects," says López.
Call for patient responsibility and safety
65% of the treatments are carried out by professionals who are not qualified to practice Cosmetic Medicine, and 20% are carried out in places that are clearly not prepared for them, such as cafeteria toilets, lifts, boats where the famous "Botox Parties" are held, etc. "It is essential that it is the doctor who performs the procedure and that the centre complies with the requirements of the relevant Ministry of Health," concluded the Dr. Petra Vegacoordinator of the scientific committee of the 40th national congress and 24th world congress of aesthetic medicine.
