This is a worrying observation for the health of patients: in 2023, there were 104 reports of illegal acts for aesthetic purposes, mainly hyaluronic acid injections, according to the National Council of the Order of Physicians, i.e. two times more than in 2022.
- In 2023, there were 104 reports of illegal acts for aesthetic purposes, according to the National Council of the Order of Physicians.
- This is more than in 2022, the year during which the National Council of the Order of Physicians referenced 55 reports of illegal acts with aesthetic aims.
- These illegal acts can also have serious consequences on the health of patients.
Reports of illegal acts for aesthetic purposes increased sharply between 2022 and 2023, going from 55 to 104, according to the National Council of the Order of Physicians, including “75 were the subject of a referral to the prosecutor”, reports The Parisian.
Illegal and dangerous injections for health
These illegal aesthetic acts are mainly injections that those who pose as doctors offer to do at knockdown prices. They are illegal and most often carried out by people who are not trained. Moreover, even if advertising is prohibited for health professionals, publications promote these acts on social networks.
“There are still a lot of fake injectors in activity, explains Adel Louafi, president of the National Union of Aesthetic Surgery (SNCPRE), who is launching an alert in The Parisian. At the time, it was estimated that there were several hundred. The phenomenon continues despite warnings.”
Less expensive and illegal, these acts can be botched. Nathanel Edery, plastic and aesthetic surgeon, explains to BFMTV that many patients – because they are often women – come to his office to repair the damage. “We see them more and more often, he indicates. Me, personally, once or twice a week. Among my colleagues, it’s pretty much the same.”
More serious, beyond the aesthetic aspect, these illegal acts can also have consequences on the health of patients: “Risk of blindness, loss of sight, loss of one eye, necrosis of the nose, lips, certain extremities”, explains Catherine Bergeret-Galley, general secretary of the national union of cosmetic surgery, at BFMTV.
In 2022, the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) recalled in a communicated that only doctors were authorized to perform hyaluronic acid injections for aesthetic purposes. The body also listed short-term and long-term side effects.
Legislate to avoid these abuses of cosmetic surgery
The public authorities are trying to act against this scourge, first by condemning the perpetrators. The affair of “Doctor Lougayne” is an example. Behind this name, two sisters posed as doctors and performed hyaluronic acid injections, without any training. 600 people passed through their hands, 24 of whom filed complaints. Last September, they were sentenced: four years in prison, three of which were suspended for the one most involved and two years suspended for the sister who assisted her.
Faced with this scourge, the medical world is calling out. In March 2023, in The Parisian200 cosmetic surgeons have launched an appeal to ban the sale of hyaluronic acid to the public in France, available in the form of pre-filled syringes in pharmacies.
The public authorities are also taking action. In November 2023, a draft decree was submitted by France to the European Commission. This calls for a ban on online sales and a limitation on the delivery of injectable products based on hyaluronic acid.to doctors and dental surgeons for their professional use, or, upon their prescription, to a patient”.
Major public health issues because many people are resorting to cosmetic surgery, and at an increasingly younger age. According to an article from Parisian published in 2019, for the first time, 18-34 year olds resort to cosmetic surgery more than 50-60 year olds.
