Latest News
Dear ACAM Colleagues
As a community, we are all facing some major challenges with the evolving impact of COVID-19 on our lives. Our hearts go out to all those severely impacted.
Sadly, we have made the decision to cancel our inaugural Australasian Conference of Cosmetic Medicine ACCM 2020, our long-awaited joint conference with ACCS and CPCA.
Even though it was scheduled for November, we felt that it may still be too soon to guarantee our members would be ready to attend, as we focus on supporting our practices, patients and community.
We are hopeful that sometime in the future we can re-visit the concept of a combined conference.
After last night’s announcement of further restrictions to services, we now believe it would be wise for all our members to consider the possibility for closing their doors for all but essential medical services.
Now is not the time to take unnecessary risks, for ourselves or our staff. As doctors, we may even be needed for front-line medical support in the near future.
In the meantime, we need to keep ourselves, our families and our patients, and our staff and colleagues, safe from exposure and spread.
Physical distancing is the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and even with the best protection, our work involves close patient contact.
None of us knows what the immediate future holds, but if we all do everything in our power to avoid contributing to spread, then we need to DO IT! And do it NOW!
We need to focus on protecting our loved ones and on our mental and physical wellbeing.
Our practices will be there when we get through this.
Wishing all our colleagues a safe transit through troubled waters.
Warm regards
Rachel Gronke
President
ACAM
The most common type of dermal filler is made up of a substance that naturally occurs in the body, and its effects can last up to nine months...
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Meet Dr Samantha Eisman from Sinclair Dermatology - one of the speakers at our upcoming Laser and Cosmetic Medicine Conference. Dr Eisman will be speaking on Jak inhibitors in alopecia areata and frontal fibrosing alopacea.
Dr Eisman lives in Melbourne and specialises in general dermatology and has an interest in hair and nail Disorders. She is also actively involved in GP and nurse education in dermatology. Find out more or register here https://www.dcconferences.com.au/lcmc2019/home
Meet A/Prof Greg Goodman from the Dermatology Institute of Victoria - one of the speakers at our upcoming Laser and Cosmetic Medicine Conference. A/Prof Goodman will be presenting on how to get the best out of treating the acne scarred patient.
Greg Goodman, MBBS, FACD, MD, GradDipClinEpi, has been a practicing dermatologist for more than 20 years. His areas of specialty include skin cancers, Mohs micrographic surgery, lasers in dermatology, cosmetic dermatology, facial aging and the treatment of acne and acne scarring. He is an associate professor at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia and chief of surgery at the Skin and Cancer Foundation of Victoria. Find out more or register here: https://www.dcconferences.com.au/lcmc2019/keynote_speakers
Registration now open for our Laser and Cosmetic Medicine Conference: https://www.dcconferences.com.au/lcmc2019/
Introducing new treatments, reviewing established therapies & showcasing latest equipment & products. A must for medical, nursing & allied health Cosmetic Medicine professionals
EACH YEAR, one of my must-attend conference events is the National Laser and Cosmetic Medicine Conference as it never fails to deliver a comprehensive mix of laser, aesthetic and cosmetic medicine topics. It also offers excellent panel discussions that allow a dynamic exchange of information among skilled practitioners and authorities in their area of expertise to discuss approaches to various clinical challenges.
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On 13 February 2018 the Committee on the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) resolved to conduct an Inquiry into cosmetic health service complaints in New South Wales. The Terms of Reference for the Inquiry are attached below.
Please note that the Committee does not have the power to investigate particular conduct, or to reconsider the HCCC's decisions, findings or recommendations about particular complaints or investigations.
If you wish to make a complaint about a health service or practitioner, please contact the HCCC directly - contact details are available on the Commission's website: www.hccc.nsw.gov.au.
The International Union of Phlebology held its World Congress in Melbourne in February 2018. The UIP now has an Australian as its president elect – A/Prof Kurosh Parsi. It now has an Australian as the UIP treasurer – Dr Paul Thibault.
The elections for these positions took place during the congress. It was held during very warm weather at the Melbourne Congress Centre, and was a great success. I hope some of you had a chance to attend. Over 1000 registrants enjoyed a number of simultaneous scientific sessions and live demonstrations during the 5 day congress, and Kurosh deserves heartiest congratulations on convening this world meeting. His organizing team did a spectacular job in putting on a great congress.
The world of Phlebology : There are a number of local and international venous meetings coming up. You may be in a position to attend any one of them. All of them look very rewarding.
Royal Society of Medicine Venous Forum
London 25-26 June 2018
https://www.rsm.ac.uk/events/events-listing/2017-2018/sections/venous-forum.aspx?section=Venous+Forum
European Venous Forum
Athens 28-30 June 2018
http://europeanvenousforum.org/
http://www.conferre-online-services.eu/congress/evf2018/registration.aspx
Asian Venous Forum combined with ASVS
Guangzhou China 12-15 July 2018
http://asvs2018.medmeeting.org/en
ANZ Society of Phlebology Workshop
Westmead Hospital 22 July 2018
Contact Ms Patricia Hood 0409 838 847
ANZ Society for Vascular Surgery
Auckland NZ 29 Sept – 1 Oct 2018
https://www.vascularconference.com/
International Union of Angiology world congress
Beijing China 18-21 October 2018
http://www.angiology.org/events/iua-events/28th-world-congress-of-the-international-union-of
ANZ Society for Vascular Surgery
Auckland NZ 29 Sept – 1 Oct 2018
https://www.vascularconference.com/
American College of Phlebology
Nashville Tennessee 8-11 November 2018
http://www.phlebology.org/education/meetings-events/2018-annual-congress
French Society of Phlebology |
Bercy Paris 6-8 December 2018
http://didhbgt.com/pdf/SFP-Paris2018_Prog.pdf
Venous Association of India – VAICON- National conference
Hyderabad India 17-19 January 2019
http://www.vaicon2019.com/index.html
The $1 billion-dollar cosmetic surgery industry has attracted unscrupulous operators out to make a quick buck – and the results are horrific.
By Elise Potaka
The $1 billion-dollar cosmetic surgery industry has attracted unscrupulous operators out to make a quick buck – and the results are horrific.
At another illegal clinic, the receptionist and practitioner describe how they import drugs in their luggage on international flights.
“Our Botox is from Korea. It can only be brought to Australia by person – if you post it, it will be confiscated. We can only get it through illegal channels.”
State and national health authorities have long been aware of these backyard beauty clinics. In the wake of a woman’s death after a procedure at the Medi Beauty salon in Sydney last August-September, NSW Health raided 10 clinics and seized drugs not approved for use in Australia.
To date, the clinic owners and drug suppliers have not been charged.
Registered doctors have also alerted health authorities.
“In Central Park Apartments, Chippendale Sydney, there is a Chinese national [...] who is administering fake Botox and fillers,” reads one complaint sent to regulators in March 2016.
“These clinics are not owned or operated by doctors licensed for this purposed, plus the products are copies from China.”
Some illegal practitioners are going as far as pretending to be registered doctors. The Feed’s investigation has uncovered a woman operating out of a fancy office block in Melbourne’s CBD, who has been using fake certificates and credentials to assure potential clients. As well as injectables and eyelid surgery, she offers breast fillers – the same procedure that the woman at the Medi Beauty salon was undergoing when she went into cardiac arrest.
When approached by The Feed, this fake doctor said, “We just do micro surgery, it's not a surgery actually.”
The spread of backyard clinics is part of a broader regulatory problem also facing Australia’s legitimate cosmetic surgery industry. Currently, anyone registered as a medical practitioner – from your local GP to your dentist – can call themselves a “cosmetic surgeon”. It doesn’t matter how much surgical training they have.
“People are going to hospital from unqualified people undertaking procedures. There are people who have died,” says Merrilyn Walton, a former NSW Health Care Complaints Commissioner.
Back in 1999, Walton chaired a NSW Committee of Inquiry into cosmetic surgery that called for a credentialing council for cosmetic surgeons. This recommendation has still not been put into action.
Meanwhile, it’s left to consumers to recognise the qualified cosmetic surgeons from those who are operating outside their area of expertise.
“He had a website that made him look glowingly brilliant,” says Michelle Burgess, who underwent breast enlargement surgery with former western Sydney GP, Les Blackstock. Last year, Blackstock had his license suspended after complaints to the regulators.
“They’re doing an investigation on him currently. But it's a little bit too late for all those many women that have suffered at the hands of this particular doctor,” says Michelle.
Merrilyn Walton believes national regulators need to revisit the i dea of an independent credentialing body, or at the least, take steps to give consumers objective advice about the skill-level needed for a particular procedure.
“Unless the governments around Australia come together to ensure that there are proper regulations in place, we will have more people die, we will have more people harmed, and it will become an industry that becomes impossible to regulate,” she told The Feed.
Watch the full investigation here:
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/fake-doctors-banned-drugs-risky-procedures-inside-australia-s-backyard-beauty-clinics
The Australasian College of Aesthetic Medicine (ACAM) is saddened and alarmed by the death of Ms Jean Huang on Friday 1st September, 2017.
ACAM is a body of medical practitioners trained to provide high quality cosmetic medical care. Our aims and objectives are to promote the education of Society members and other persons directly associated with Laser and Cosmetic Medicine activities, and to enhance general public awareness particular to the profession of Cosmetic Medicine.
Currently there is very poor oversight and regulation of the Cosmetic Medicine industry. S4 medications such as lignocaine, botulinum toxin and dermal fillers are readily available in every street mall, despite the law stating they can only be supplied by a registered medical practitioner. There has been an issue with overseas trained doctors who are not registered with AHPRA claiming to be a "doctor" and performing cosmetic procedures, as has occurred in this instance.
Regulatory bodies, including ACAM, AHPRA, HCCC and the NSW Department of Heath need to work together to address the concerning issues in relation to the regulation of practitioners and also the premises where these procedures are being performed.
ACAM supports:
1. Licensing and regulation of facilities providing cosmetic medicine procedures.
2. Ensuring that practitioners providing cosmetic medicine procedures are qualified and registered with AHPRA
For the standards prescribed by ACAM please visit our website: www.acam.org.au
For further information contact:
Dr Sharron Phillipson at the Australasian College of Aesthetic Medicine on 612 9929 2566/ mob 0412 402 669/ info@acam.org.au or details can be found on the website www.acam.org.au.
Dr Sharron Phillipson
President
Australasian College of Aesthetic Medicine
www.acam.org.au
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