Dermatologists committing crime

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 20: Consultants in plastic surgery say the treatments that some dermatologists offer in their liposuction clinics can be deemed legally as a crime, reports Aljarida daily. They said the insistence on performing these treatments endangers the lives of patients. They demanded the need to tighten supervision from the Medical Licensing Department on such practices. A consultant plastic surgeon and head of maxillofacial surgery at the Ministry of Health Dr. Emad Al-Najada said, “A dermatologist is not allowed to perform liposuction like a plastic surgeon. Ministerial law No. 245/2017, which was issued by the former minister of Health Dr. Jamal Al-Harbi, highlight the specialties that are allowed to perform liposuction and such operations, the places where they can be performed, and the quantities allowed to be suctioned”.

He explained that what is currently taking place in terms of liposuction inside some clinics is not permitted according to the law, neither by general nor local anesthesia. Operations that require total anesthesia must be carried out in authorized centers and hospitals. Therefore, the practices happening now in some clinics in Kuwait are wrong. This matter needs more oversight from the Medical Licensing Department.

Also, it has been noticed that some dermatology clinics, while performing liposuction, extract or inject fats in large quantities. This puts the lives of these patients at risk. A consultant of burn surgery at the Ministry of Health and Head of the Kuwait Cosmetic Association, Dr. Hisham Borzek, said, “The law has allowed certain specialties to perform some cosmetic procedures. The Medical Licensing Department is the supervisory body that has the right to carry out inspection, and punish if necessary. It must ensure that doctors follow these rules”. He stressed the importance of educating patients, and called on the administration to focus on educating patients.