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SINGAPORE: Plastic surgeons said the proposed regulations on liposuction are "too lax" and "grossly inadequate".
They were responding to the Health Ministry's (MOH) draft regulations on liposuction which were released on Sunday.
Plastic surgeon, Dr Martin Huang, performs around 60 liposuction procedures a year.
And like all plastic surgeons, he completed three years of basic surgical training and four years of advanced plastic surgery training before becoming a specialist.
But under the proposed MOH guideline, a doctor or a general practitioner only needs to undergo a year of training before conducting a liposuction procedure.
This, Dr Huang feels, is grossly inadequate. He said: "This is not about making a quick buck, but about investing time to do things properly instead of finding a shortcut to make fast money."
Another plastic surgeon, Dr JJ Chua, agrees with his view.
Dr Chua gets about two requests a week to fix botched liposuction jobs performed by general practitioners. Complaints include uneven results such as more fat has been removed from one side of the body than the other side.
He said: "How can one year be enough and be strict enough to learn all about liposuction?"
If MOH plans to allow general practitioners to perform liposuction, Dr Chua suggested that the minimum requirement should be three years of basic surgical training.
He added that the doctors should also perform 20 liposuction procedures under supervision before getting a licence to do the procedure on their own.
- CNA/so
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