Apropos of a recent PSP editorial about how organizations — as well as surgeons and the public, alike — should allow only the most qualified practitioners into the marketplace and be careful when vetting a practitioner’s license and certifications, Stylist has published a similar plea. The difference is that Stylelist writer Grace Gold has tendencies toward sensationalizing the trend of noncore specialists, such as OB/GYNs and dentists, entering the cosmetic surgery field.
In fact, Gold’s article has an aura of one of those anti-noncore pieces that touts plastic surgeons and disses cosmetic surgeons. However, I will put that aside for now as it is very well-written and makes some excellent points. ‘Free’ Plastic Surgery: The Dangers of Bargain Breasts and Botox:
…[A] new trend has sprung up in our youth-obsessed society: an increase in potentially dangerous cheap plastic surgery. Billboards advertising $2,999 bargain boob jobs from a “surgeon to the stars” have sprouted on the California 405 Freeway, a sign in the Midwest proclaims you can “buy one implant, get one free,” while an advertisement near Clearwater, Florida brags $8 Botox injections. Still, as horror stories like the former Miss Argentina who died at age 38 following a butt augmentation prove, bargain-basement procedures have their price.
“To get the cost down, they could be cutting back on things like general anesthesia. They make you feel like the procedure must be easier and not so serious if you’re just getting local sedation. Nothing could be further from the truth,” says Long Beach, Calif., plastic surgeon Dr. Marcel Daniels.
The article is accompanied by snapshots of some hard sell-type highway billboards, which do look pretty tacky.
But because facial injections are less involved than full surgeries, they have become the most popular procedure that physicians like dentists and gynecologists are adding to their repertoire.
Experts cite concerns that untrained doctors can improperly inject the substances, which can be toxic and carry harmful side effects, like a droopy lid or lip. There is also the danger that an unethical doctor may use a blend of cheaper ingredients rather than the FDA-approved name brand, as in [Priscilla] Presley’s case.
