Aesthetics continues to be a dynamic field and as the Aesthetics Sub-editor I have had the privilege of being involved in many aspects of the specialty. Mid May saw the Annual Face Eyes Nose Conference in Coventry – both the Editor and I were present, giving us an opportunity to have an Editorial Board meeting with the PMFA News team to plan the future issues and also formally welcome a new Sub-editor and Specialist Advisor to the team – Ian Ormiston and Anna Baker. We look forward to their input in future issues.
During the conference possible changes in the regulation of aesthetics were discussed – Simon Withey presented the current views on the College’s progress on Credentialing in Cosmetic Surgery and possible changes in legislation with regards to regulation. The voluntary credentialing of surgeons and non-credentialed surgeons raises the possibility of ‘Board Certified’ and ‘Board Eligible’ surgeons in the UK. A change in the law will allow the General Medical Council to detail whether an individual has the appropriate skills and training to carry out cosmetic surgery. This was a view expressed by the Royal College of Surgeons ahead of the Queen’s Speech and a view that the new government did not carry through. It would appear that the College will introduce a new system of certification to identify those surgeons that have the appropriate skills and experience to provide cosmetic surgery, however, it will be much more difficult for the GMC to enforce this and may be a voluntary process.
The role of voluntary registration took a further twist when the two major nursing aesthetics bodies (BACN & PIAPA) published a joint statement in June on their views on Voluntary Registers – and named a specific register. In essence the point being “no nurse, doctor or dentist should feel the need to join a fee-charging Voluntary Registration body to reassure the general public as to their professional competence.” We await to see the developments in this political area. Perhaps what is required is a multidisciplinary Faculty of Aesthetics within the aegis of a College to allow all practitioners to work together and develop a standard for aesthetic procedures?
In early June I was asked to attend a meeting in Dusseldorf to present a series of Facial Anatomy videos for a non-surgical study day followed by a spectacular Firework display laid on by the Japanese community (Dusseldorf being the city in Germany with the highest concentration of Japanese living there!). The next stop was due to be the Beauty Through Science meeting in Stockholm hosted by Per Heden – unfortunately due to personal circumstances I had to cancel this and am grateful to Jan Jernbeck, Per Bergentz and Per Heden for stepping in at the last minute to cover the sessions. During this period concomitant meetings were taking place in London (FACE) and Nice (SOFCEP), thus keeping all those involved in aesthetics busy travelling to the various meeting. We will look forward to reports from delegates who attend meeting and include them here. The Vagas Cosmetic Surgery Meeting sounds interesting and if any readers are attending please submit a report for us to include in the magazine.
