Cosmetic clinics face crackdown

Under a new inspection regime fronted by the Department of Health and Medical Services (DoHMS), several clinics have been closed and a number of doctors have lost their licences.

Dr Ramadan Ibrahim Mohamed, head of the clinical governance office, said other investigations were ongoing. “Plastic surgery is big business. We need to be looking at the industry closely.”

The tougher reforms, which will include spot checks, aim to weed out illegal practices. Inspectors will have the right to issue warnings, impose fines and – for repeat offenders – revoke licences and shut down facilities.

The move comes weeks after a 27-year-old Emirati woman died after undergoing liposuction. Seven people, including a plastic surgeon and four nurses, are accused of malpractice.

Dr Adam Bader, CEO of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery Hospital, Dubai, said such incidents are the fallout from a ‘hit-and-run’ industry.

“Physicians come in, do procedures and fly out, leaving post-recovery and care to staff that are not qualified. On top of this, they are performing cases that specialists in the US only offer after years of training.

“What has happened is three deaths in the last six months because there is a lack of guidelines to ensure the safe practice of cosmetic procedures.”

The deaths have rocked the confidence of Dubai residents. A poll by Medical Times sister website arabianbusiness.com found 65% of readers said they would not choose a local clinic because there was not enough regulation in the industry.

Dr Ali Al Numairy, president of the Emirates Medical Association and a plastic surgeon himself, welcomed closer scrutiny of cosmetic facilities. In recent years, Dubai has grown a parallel “grey market” that trades in illegal procedures, he said.

“These clinics and doctors aren’t licensed, they aren’t members of the EMA; no-one knows what they are doing.

“These [closed] clinics have been warned before.”