The idea is compelling. The catalog ad says: “Look and feel younger without setting foot in the surgery.” And you think about those fuller lips and higher cheekbones you've been envying for so long. Now it seems having your wish is going to be easier said than done. All you have to do is reply to the ad and …..
Yes, Transform, the provider for cosmetic surgery products at Manchester, has now teamed up with UK clothing catalog, Grattan and promises you a range of non-surgical procedures, such as Botox administration, through the mail.
Botox is a highly purified and much diluted form of one of the most poisonous naturally occurring substance in the world. Known to paralyze muscles, its diluted form is nonetheless is growing in popularity as a treatment for smoothening out wrinkles.
Customers will be able to have the procedure at clinics operated by Transform and will be given the option of paying in installments (£100 to 200 each time), over a certain period of time.
But plastic surgeons have expressed their concerns over these mail order Botox treatments. The consumer body Which? and BAARPS (the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons) are already criticizing the move and have warned that such "off-the-shelf" sales undermined the seriousness of the procedures.
Which? objects to the move on the grounds that it could possibly generate harmful effects such as headaches, paralysis and drooping eyes.
Frances Blunden,Which? health adviser, states, “It is making treatments seem relatively easy and very trivial when it is a serious decision. It is pushing treatments as something as easy to buy as a new pair of shoes or a skirt.'
The organizations also criticised a competition in the catalog for having a cosmetic makeover on the Channel 4 TV programme 10 Years Younger. This would involve which often treatments such as teeth whitening and lip enhancement, besides more complicated procedures such as laser eye surgery.
BAARPS has advised consumers not to take advantage of the offer made by Grattan and Transform. In the words of consultant plastic surgeon and BAAPS president, Douglas McGeorge : “I'm surprised any cosmetic surgery company claiming to provide quality of care would choose to market through a clothing catalog.
“It is essential the public understand that aesthetic procedures, even if they are non-surgical, are not commodities to buy off-the-shelf and cannot later be exchanged for a different style or size.
"Side effects from injectables may be rare but they do happen, and the latest warnings from manufacturers serve to highlight the need for proper consultation and thorough informed consent by the patient."
However, the operations director for Transform, Pat Dunion reassured the public, insisting that there was absolutely no danger in using the procedures earmarked by them.
Speaking for the company, he said consumers first went through a consultation and were given all the necessary information before they underwent any procedure.
He assured the public, “Transform is regulated by the Healthcare Commission and all our practitioners across our 22 clinics are either a qualified doctor, surgeon or a registered general nurse.”
"The partnership with Grattan is an effective means of widening the non-surgical market.
"The clinical decision process for Grattan customers is the same as for all our non-surgical patients.
"Regardless of how they heard of Transform, all are fully informed about the procedures before they consent to proceed.
"Transform is committed to high quality patient care and is currently leading the way, alongside industry partners, to push the current government to introduce formal regulation of the non-surgical market in the UK."
