Hyaluronic acid is available without a prescription in pharmacies, but according to these 200 health professionals, poorly performed injections can cause serious complications.
- For three years, cosmetic surgeons have observed an upsurge in illegal injections of hyaluronic acid.
- These can lead to serious, sometimes irreversible complications.
- 200 cosmetic surgeons call for a ban on the over-the-counter sale of hyaluronic acid.
Illegal injections, with disastrous consequences. In a column published in The Parisian, 200 plastic surgeons ask to prohibit the free sale of hyaluronic acid, a product used in injection, in particular to inflate the lips. “For three years, we have seen the alarming growth of illegal injections through complications, sometimes extremely serious, that we take care of in our plastic surgery notebooks and in the emergency departments of hospital departments.explain these health professionals, members of the National Union of Reconstructive and Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (SNCPRE).
Hyaluronic acid: what are the complications linked to illegal injections?
According to them, a hundred people, non-doctors, currently practice these injections. However, these require specific skills. “Injections of fillers and hyaluronic acid are medical procedures and must be performed by cosmetic surgeons or trained doctors.recalled Dr. Adel Louafi in a press release published in early January by the SNCPRE. In a face, there are vessels, nerves, arteries, in communication with the arteries of the eye and the brain. You have to know the precise and detailed anatomy of the face and therefore you have to be a doctor, and a trained doctor.“This type of act also requires knowing the hygiene measures and what to do in the event of a problem.”These illegal injections often lead to irreversible complications.says the SNCPRE in its forum. In some cases, they may have led to sepsis, gangrene and hospitalizations in intensive care, with the vital prognosis of young patients.“For some women, the injections leave indelible marks on the face, which can affect them”break down psychologically“.
Illegal injections of hyaluronic acid: what are the claims of 200 cosmetic surgeons?
Today, people who practice illegal injections can buy the products online or directly from pharmacies. The members of the SNCPRE also note that some young girls, minors, perform self-injections, with tutorials available on the Internet.
In their forum, cosmetic surgeons ask that the sale of hyaluronic acid and other injectable fillers be “controlled” and “Itheir delivery is made only to doctors authorized to practice these acts“. To limit the risk of self-use or fraudulent use, they add that these products should no longer be dispensed directly to the patient. In the SNCPRE press releasepublished at the beginning of January, Maître Laetitia Fayon, lawyer at the court, recalls that “performing an injection without a medical degree constitutes illegal practice of medicine”. This breach of the criminal code is punishable by two years’ imprisonment and a fine of 30,000 euros.