Some Saudi residents have reportedly called for authorities to shutdown an expatriate woman’s at-home plastic surgery clinic.
The woman, an Arab, told Arabic daily Al Hayat she is offering hair loss treatments, Botox, lip augmentation, skin lightening, liposuction and other services and insisted her clinic was hygienic and safe.
“My home-clinic is fully equipped with the necessary equipment and technology and my services are not expensive,” she was quoted as saying.
“I do a hair loss treatment in which I separate the red blood cells from the plasma in a blood sample before I inject plasma into the scalp.”
A Ministry of Health spokesperson said the ministry could not intervene until it received a report from the police, Arab News reported.
If no one is complaining or experiencing any negative effects from her services then there is nothing we can do,” the ministry spokesman was quoted as saying.
“Turning your home into a clinic is unusual but if she managed to meet the ministry regulations then she shouldn’t be bothered about it.”
Jeddah National Guard Hospital plastic surgery consultant Haitham Jamjoom claimed there had been a rise in at-home plastic surgeons.
He said such services could be risky and called on the ministry to intervene, even without a police complaint.
“There is no guarantee that the equipment used is sanitary. The slightest negligence could infect the patient with AIDS, hepatitis and other fatal diseases,” he was quoted as saying.
“Having the correct equipment without the certified doctor is not enough to execute a safe surgery and having the certified doctor without the equipment is also risky.
“If the woman is certified and has the right equipment why does she have to run the clinic from home? Why doesn’t she open a clinic legally and offer her services?”
Saudis spent $220 million on plastic surgery last year, according to Ministry of Health figures quoted by the Makkah Daily in August 2014.
A total of 316 plastic surgeons performed about 144,000 plastic surgery procedures, about 40 percent of which were in government hospitals, in the previous five years.
The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) said in March, the worldwide selfie craze had increased demand for plastic surgery by 33 percent in the past two years.
A separate AAFPRS survey found 13 percent of facial plastic surgeons witnessed an increase in requests for celebrity-inspired procedures in 2014, up from 3 percent in 2013 and 7 percent in 2012.
Follow us on
