With the sharp increase in demand for non-surgical cosmetic enhancements, one has to wonder why there are such discrepancies in PRICES being charged for these cosmetic treatments.
You can ‘compare the pair’ and ‘crunch the numbers’ and I’m sure many people think they’re getting a great deal when they discover a cheap price somewhere for ‘Injectables’.
Have you ever wondered WHY these cheap prices can even be offered in the first place?
After more than 25 years in the industry, here at Sydney Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery Clinic, we’ve heard it all. And it’s time that these illegal practices being conducted by some unethical operators are exposed and those responsible either deregistered or prosecuted.
Learn about best practice standards for cosmetic procedures to help you choose wisely and stay safe!
Here are just a few possible reasons some clinics are able to offer ultra-cheap cosmetic injections:
- The products being offered may be ‘counterfeit’ versions. In many cases, they can look the same but they are illegally manufactured overseas and then imported into Australia. These counterfeit products may contain impurities that can cause severe and permanently disfiguring complications. In 2013, an article in the Sydney Morning Herald reported that one particular Sydney doctor was allegedly using such products.
- Another common reason for dramatically cheaper prices is the widespread practice of ‘Nurse Injectors’ who either inject in cosmetic clinics or travel around injecting at various Beauty Salons, or even treat patients in their homes! While Nurses are admirable and skilled individuals within their own profession, they may not have an intimate knowledge of facial anatomy that these treatments require. To make matters worse, some ‘Nurse Injectors’ are ignoring existing regulations that require each patient to be consulted by a doctor prior to receiving any Anti Wrinkle Injection or Dermal Filler treatment. In 2014, a Nurse was suspended for administering Anti-Wrinkle Injections to a patient that had not first been seen by the doctor:
http://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/action/PJUDG?jgmtid=172043
In contrast, Sydney Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery Clinic is a ‘Doctor Only’ clinic. We do not have ‘Nurse Injectors’.
We are strong advocates of Patient Safety and always practice under the highest of professional standards.
Some of the other ‘scary and unethical practices’ we’ve heard about other clinics from our patients include:
- Out-of-date ‘Injectables’ being used on patients which could prove either less effective or cause a serious infection;
- Syringes being illegally shared between patients with the risk of transmission of infections such as Hepatitis B and C, or HIV;
- Partly-used syringes being stored in the refrigerator until the patient next needs a treatment – an unhygienic practice with serious potential consequences;
- Claiming to use the more expensive Anti-Wrinkle products but then, unbeknown to the patient, injecting a cheaper or illegal product;
- Importing counterfeit products and claiming them to be the ‘real deal’ when they’re not. These products are counterfeit, illegal, and potentially dangerous;
- Excessively diluting Anti Wrinkle Products causing patients to not receive the corrections they were expecting;
- Unqualified injectors without a detailed knowledge of facial anatomy have inadvertently injected Filler into a blood vessel and caused blockage, resulting in skin necrosis (skin death), lip necrosis, and even permanent blindness!
All these reasons should make you think twice when considering WHERE you should be getting your cosmetic treatments and WHO will inject your face.
Again, I go back to one of my favourite analogies – you can’t walk into Chanel expecting to pay $50 for a handbag… you KNOW it’s going to be much, much more. And for good reason – the quality, the name, the prestige…
I’m sure any one of us who has travelled to South East Asia has been tempted to buy one of those ‘rip-off’ designer handbags, or any other designer piece for that matter, know very well that it definitely won’t last as long because the quality of the components that make up the cheap bag is nowhere near the standard of what a designer-brand name would actually use!
Now that’s just a bag I’m talking about. Here, we are talking about faces! Not something I’m prepared to risk just to save some money.
If I’m going to do something like this, I’m going to do it properly – OR NOT AT ALL!
And YOU shouldn’t risk it either!
– Laurin