Australian Cosmetic Surgery Consumer Alert

Dr Michael Zacharia - Authorities Take Action!

2009-11-25T16:27:00.000-08:00

For the protection of patients the Queensland and NSW medical boards have imposed a range of conditions and restrictions on the registration of Dr Michael Zacharia, celebrity surgeon. These relate to the possession and administration of 'anti-aging' medications.

Dr Zac as he likes to be known, is familiar to viewers of the 'Kerri Anne Show'. Dr Zac is a qualified ENT specialist and a self styled cosmetic surgeon, not to mention a very active businessman, who regards himself as a leader in anti-aging medicine. Amongst other things, he is associated with the Esteem cosmetic clinics in Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane, the About Face studio in Sydney and the Bondi Junction Private Hospital. Dr Zac is also immediate past president of the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery and is its current secretary. To check any up to date details of Dr Zacharia's conditional registration, contact the Queensland and NSW medical boards or click to enlarge images below for the information currently available at the NSW and Queensland medical boards.

Call to Stop the GP Infiltration of Cosmetic Surgery- Dr Gordon Moyes MLC

2009-05-01T22:07:00.000-07:00

In the wake of the disturbing findings of the recent CHOICE report on the practices of 30 Sydney and Brisbane cosmetic surgeons,The Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes MLC has called for GP's to be excluded from the practice of cosmetic surgery, and stated his view that Plastic Surgeons are the medics who are best placed to perform this kind of surgery.

It is legal albeit highly controversial for GP's to describe themselves as cosmetic surgeons, and wield the knife in the practice of cosmetic surgery and in a lucrative industry, many do!

Plastic Surgeons have 7 to 10 years of properly accredited specialist training further to their basic GP qualification.

Dr Moyes says that problems in cosmetic surgery are further compounded by false and misleading advertising in the industry which is under regulated, and that women and girls are being placed tragically at risk in these circumstances.

Bravo Dr Moyes!

Click here to read

'Deidre Nolan v Dr Anoop Rastogi' in the Media.

2009-03-31T19:06:00.000-07:00

The Sydney Morning Herald has picked up on Dr Anoop Rastogi's Supreme Court proceedings against me. Now we're both famous!

Click here to read

Ongoing Activism Despite Injunction!

2009-03-31T18:35:00.000-07:00

Dr Anoop Rastogi's legal actions against me are an ongoing strain, and I've been as sick as! But a bit of an injunction and an illness doesn't keep a good woman down!

I'm still blogging as you can see and I now have the deidrenolan YouTube channel.

Click now to get informed about issues in cosmetic surgery.

And another thing don't forget to tell me your stories! I answer all emails and I'm happy to hear about your complaints and make representations on your behalf to parliaments or other entities in respect of concerns either about particular surgeons or issues in cosmetic surgery generally speaking. That's what I do, so don't be shy to ask!

Regards Deidre

Cosmetic Underbelly! Appalling Practices Exposed in Secret CHOICE Survey!

2009-03-18T06:34:00.000-07:00

Do we have a dangerous breed of quacks on the loose in cosmetic surgery?

The utterly irregulated state of the industry would certainly seem to favour the liklihood.

Read the disturbing findings of a recent undercover investigation of 'cosmetic surgeons' practising in Brisbane and Sydney, which has been conducted by the highly respected CHOICE consumer group, in conjunction with the assistance of Plastic Surgeons from the highly respected Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Click here

The Ups and Downs of Dr Martyn Mendelsohn- Another Colourful Identity in the Annals of Cosmetic Surgery!

2009-03-18T04:15:00.000-07:00

Dr Martyn Mendelsohn

High profile medic Dr Martyn Mendelsohn 50, has told the NSW Medical Tribunal that he has allowed a 22 year old patient to perform oral sex on him his Sydney rooms, during the course of an after hours appointment where he gave her a 'nose job' without the presence or assistance of other personnel.

Oddly enough, now its his turn to go down!

Dr Mendelsohn has been struck from the medical register for the next 2 years, not only for being too sexy for his scalpel, but also for failing to properly assess and monitor the health of the woman concerned.

Dr Mendelsohn has a not unimpressive medical resume, and originally came to public prominence for his TV appearances on Good Medicine and RPA.

Unfortunately this is not the first time the good doctor's been in a spot of bother over allegations about his penis finding its way into the mouth of a patient under his care.

However allegations of sexual assault which have been made to police, have been denied by Mendelsohn, and have not resulted in successful criminal prosecutions.

Click below to read more.

Celebrity Doctor on Rape Charge. By Natasha Wallace

Celeb Doctor Sex Assault Charge Dropped

Celebrity Doctor Tells of Oral Sex in Surgery. By Harriet Alexander

A Blowjob for a Nose Job

Doctor Had Oral Sex With Nose-Job Patient. By Lauren Wilson

RPA TV Doctor 'crossed boundary'. By Kim Arlington

Doctor Struck Off After Oral Sex with Patient

Cosmetic Surgery Regulation

2009-01-07T18:11:00.000-08:00

Every now and then, the NSW Government makes a show of itself giving lip service to the idea of strict regulation in cosmetic surgery. I for one really object to this as it is not sincere as far as I can see, and tends to give prospective consumers a false sense of security when venturing into this field.

Recently, the NSW Government has been banging on about the need for truth in advertising in cosmetic surgery. And if you were to take the lip service to heart you might think that regulation was so stringent that no doctor would dare to indulge in the practice of false and misleading advertising to pump up his/her business prospects

You might think that fundamentally, we do have truth in advertising where cosmetic surgery is concerned, when in fact that is far from the truth of the matter, with examples of advertising and promotions that flout the ‘stringent regulations’ being plentiful and easy to find,when you know what to look for.

Basically the ‘stringent rules’ appear to be a government showpiece designed to cover up for the lack of any real and effective regulation in this area. That's certainly my view.

I’m not ‘buying it’ and neither should you! The ‘stringent rules’ are not there to protect you and me they’re there to protect the government’s backside.

That's a disgrace in and of itself ofcourse, and all the more so, because it tends to give prospective consumers the very false idea that they can relax because they are already safe and protected, and dealing with practitioners in a heavily scrutinised industry, and therefore their existence, actually seems to contribute further to the possibility or likelihood that consumers will come to harm, due to the promotion of an unwarranted sense of security, which is a dangerous thing to have, in what is in fact an essentially unregulated industry.

Consumers cannot afford to take a relaxed and trusting approach in this industry, a list of regulations without constant monitoring and scrutiny of actual activity in the industry, along with unfailing enforcement of penalties for breaches, doesn’t protect consumers from anything, and this cynical, irresponsible government knows it!

I think the government will probably continue to obfuscate in this area unless more pressure can be brought to bear upon it, and that means that media support is required, to give victims of this industry a voice.

Fortunately a few politicians in the NSW Parliament are conscious of the problems and dangers in cosmetic surgery and are willing to help.

I urge anyone, especially any victim of any kind of abuse, or other unsatisfactory treatment in cosmetic surgery, who believes that women and girls should be protected from danger and exploitation in this industry to write to media and the following politicians to give them your support and encouragement in this matter.

Ms Lee Rhiannon
Parliament House, Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000
The Greens
Phone (02) 9230 3551 Fax (02) 9230 3550 lee.rhiannon@parliament.nsw.gov.au

Reverend the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes
Parliament House, Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group) member
Phone (02) 9230 3340 Fax (02) 9230 2132 gordon.moyes@parliament.nsw.gov.au

Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile
Parliament House, Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group) Assistant President
Phone (02) 9230 2478 Fax (02) 9230 2098 F.Nile@parliament.nsw.gov.au

The Hon. Michael Veitch
Parliament House, Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Deputy Government Whip in the Legislative Council Australian
Labor Party member
Phone (02) 9230 2111 Fax (02) 9233 3661 mailto:mmick.veitch@parliament.nsw.gov.au

The Hon. Catherine Cusack
Parliament House, Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Shadow Minister for Fair Trading
Shadow Minister for Volunteering
Liberal Party member
Phone (02) 9230 2915 Fax (02) 9230 2385 catherine.cusack@parliament.nsw.gov.au

Mrs Judy Hopwood
Suite 5 The Madison, 25-29 Hunter Street, HORNSBY NSW 2077
In her capacity as Member for Hornsby
Liberal Party member
Phone (02) 9476 3411 Fax (02) 9476 2965 hornsby@parliament.nsw.gov.au

Ms Clover Moore
58 Oxford Street, PADDINGTON NSW 2021
Independent memberIn her capacity as Member for Sydney:
Phone (02) 9360 3053 Fax (02) 9331 6963 sydney@parliament.nsw.gov.au

Ms Virginia Judge
Minister for Fair Trading
Minister for Citizenship
and Minister Assisting the Premier on the Arts
In her capacity as Minister for Fair Trading, Minister for Citizenship, and Minister Assisting the
Premier on the Arts:
Australian Labor Party member
Phone (02) 9228 5900 Fax (02) 9228 5899 office@judge.minister.nsw.gov.au
In her capacity as Member for Strathfield:
Phone (02) 9747 1711 Fax (02) 9747 6054 strathfield@parliament.nsw.gov.au

Mrs Jillian Skinner
Suite 3, 40 Yeo Street, NEUTRAL BAY NSW 2089
Deputy Leader of the Opposition
Shadow Minister for Health
Liberal Party member
In her capacity as Member for North Shore:
Phone (02) 9909 2594 Fax (02) 9909 2654 northshore@parliament.nsw.gov.au

Buyer of Beauty Beware - The Four Corners Report

2008-12-03T20:22:00.000-08:00

"As Australians queue for breast enhancements, tummy tucks, nose jobs and liposuction, Jonathan Holmes asks if safety lags behind profits in the booming and sparsely regulated business of cosmetic surgery."

Click here for more

Dr Cynthia Weinstein - Cosmetic Doctor

2008-12-03T19:58:00.001-08:00

Dr Cynthia Weinstein seems to know how to find trouble.

She's been in the 'bad books' with authorities, over and again.

She's a member of the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery (ACCS).

Have a read about her!

Dodgy Doc's Bubble Bursts in Plastic World

Dr Skin Accused of Botched Operations

A Blemished Career

Pioneer Cosmetic Surgeon Faces New Peer Probe

Dr Daniel Lanzer - Cosmetic Surgeon

2008-12-03T19:29:00.000-08:00

Back in 2006 Today Tonight got a drubbing from Media Watch for a credulous story it ran on a procedure that was being offered by Dr Daniel Lanzer.

Dr Lanzer is a member of the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery (ACCS)

Click here to read more

Pamela Noon - Cosmetic Surgery Consultant

2008-12-03T18:57:00.000-08:00

Pamela Noon is a cosmetic surgery consultant.

She was recently featured on two Channel 9 programs.

So... should we believe the good news we saw on the 'Kerrie-Anne Show' or the bad news we saw on A Current Affair? And to what extent should we rely on media representations at all to derive our information about cosmetic surgery?

Check out the Media Watch story by Jonathan Holmes and enter into your own deliberations!

Pamela Noon has been getting a pretty bad wrap (she says its a bum wrap) from Channel 9's A Current Affair (ACA) concerning the way she runs her cosmetic surgery cosultancy business, for the last 10 years or so.

But paid advertorial on Channel 9's, Mornings with Kerrie-Anne paints a different, more alluring picture.

Pamela Noon with Ros Switzer on the Kerrie-Anne Show.
She reckons "good facial surgery will have you looking as young as you feel".

Click here to view the Media Watch story

Breast Implants and Suicide

2008-11-20T19:49:00.000-08:00

We're talking about one of the leading forms of cosmetic surgery and if we are to believe the advertising hype of some practioners it's a very safe form of surgery involving high rates of satisfaction.

Other sources present a more troubling picture.

Cosmetic Surgery Case Study- Breast Implants- CHOICE Magazine

Study: Breast Implants Up Suicide Risk 7 Aug 2007 ... Study: Breast Implants Up Suicide Risk, A new study of more than 3500 Swedish women concludes that women with breast implants have an ...

Breast implants Triple Rate of Suicide Swedish study, published in the Annals of Plastic Surgery, reinforces several others that have shown women who have breast enlargements have higher suicide risks.

Can breast implants lead to depression and suicide?

Breast implant surgery gone wrong. CHOICE Magazine identifies breast augmentation as high risk surgery.

Liposuction/Liposculpture

2008-11-20T19:05:00.000-08:00

Looking through some of the ads on the Internet and judging by what we sometimes see on TV and in the glossy mags, anyone would think that this kind of surgery is a walk in the park.

It's certainly one of the leading forms of cosmetic surgery in Australia and I believe this is similar to the situation which obtains in the US and the UK.

Women and girls who are thinking of undertaking this procedure should aquaint themselves with the literature on excessive liposuction.

Excessive Liposuction
Excessive liposuction is not safe. This patient had too much liposuction on a ... Excessive liposuction might be defined as a volume of liposuction that is ..

Excessive Liposuction
Aggressive surgeons endanger patient outcomes and well being.

What about unnessesary liposuction?

Think Tara Reid.

This is what she has been reported as saying in relation to her lipo surgery gone wrong; "I got lipo because even though I was skinny, I wanted – I’m not going to lie – a six-pack. I had body contouring, but it all went wrong. My stomach became the most ripply, bulgy thing.”
Click here to read more

Tara Reid is scarred from liposuction, but good enough and brave enough, to warn others about the perils of cosmetic surgery. Her case should be an example and a warning to those who are inclined to believe that if celebrities are getting these procedures, then everything must be 'A ok'. Unfortunately as you can see, it doesn't necessarily work that way, does it?

Liposuction is booming - and the vast majority of patients are women. What makes them submit to such a violent procedure - especially when it removes only a few pounds of fat? Kira Cochrane asks why? Click here to read more

Death and Disfigurement in the US, Celebrity Surgeon not Board Certified!

2008-11-12T19:40:00.000-08:00

Donda West (mother of US rapper Kanye West) dies after cosmetic surgery with American TV glamour doc Jan Evans as seen on the Oprah show: Click here to read more
Seven more lawsuits tied to this doctor: Click here to view video report
Oprah Winfrey on the defensive: Click here to read more

Kanye West attends Mother's funeral.

Julie Coleman (below) is not a celebrity. Her story of disfigurement after surgery with Dr Jan Adams only came to light after the death of Kanye West's mother.

Click here to read more

How do I Make Sure My Surgeon Really is a Plastic Surgeon?

2008-11-03T20:47:00.000-08:00

It's not always as straight forward as it should be, as believe it or not, practioners have been known to lie or mislead about their qualifications, so unfortunately you can't always rely on what they say, or even what they publish about themselves!

If you want to be sure that your doctor really is a genuine, formally trained and accredited plastic surgeon, call the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons to verify his or her membership.

What about doctors who are members of the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery (ACCS)?

Members of the The Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery are not usually plastic surgeons, however they may be formally trained surgeons of other kinds eg. ENT's and general surgeons or they may not be formally trained, Australian Medical Council (AMC) accredited surgical specialists at all, they may be dermatologists or GP's.

The AMC is the only body which is officially authorised within the Australian system to endow medical entities, be they individual doctors, or organisations, with government accreditation.

Therefore whilst the individual members of the ACCS will be AMC accredited as GP's and so on, any cosmetic surgery training with the ACCS, will not be AMC accredited.

The ACCS itself is not an AMC accredited body.

So if a doctor tells you he is 'ACCS accredited' in cosmetic surgery you need to bear in mind that that so-called accreditation itself, has no standing with the AMC, it is not recognised specialist training.

It is legal albeit highly controversial for non plastic surgeons, including GP's to perform cosmetic surgery, and to describe themselves as cosmetic surgeons.

Bone fide plastic surgeons are AMC accredited surgical specialists with at least 7 years of training further to their basic GP degree attainment.

Cosmetic Surgeons versus Plastic Surgeons

2008-11-03T20:10:00.000-08:00

What's the big difference? They all do boob jobs don't they? They sure do, but there's a little more to consider than just that!

Actually 'cosmetic versus plastic' is one of the most controversial issues in cosmetic surgery, and if you're thinking about having cosmetic surgery of any kind, it's an issue you need to get your head around before you take the big leap.

Another thing you need to get your head around is that this industry is not well regulated, in fact it's barely regulated at all, and this may be hard for some to believe.

Many consumers assume wrongly I'm afraid, that because it's surgery, the regulators must be right across it. That's the way it should be of course, but unfortunately that's not the way that it is.

Did you know that anyone with a basic medical degree is legally, albeit controversially, entitled to perform complex, invasive cosmetic surgery procedures and describe themselves as a cosmetic surgeon?

Its a matter which has most plastic surgeons fuming- they have 7 to 10, and often 12 years of formal Australian Medical Council (AMC) accredited specialist training further to their basic GP qualification.

Click on the following links to learn more about your choices in this industry.

Buyer of Beauty, Beware - The Four Corners Report
"It’s plastic surgeons versus cosmetic surgeons, scalpels drawn. The plastic surgeons deride cosmetic surgeons as lacking qualifications and breadth of"... By Jonathan Holmes

What’s the Difference Between Cosmetic Surgeons and Plastic Surgeons? - "It may come as a surprise to you to know that many doctors calling themselves Cosmetic Surgeons have completed no more than their basic medical qualification or have not done any further surgical training beyond the basic medical degree!" By Deirdre Tozer

Call to Halt the Cowboy Surgeons-The Australian - 16 Feb 2008 ... The lack of regulation of cosmetic surgery is a national disgrace that allows " shonky" and underqualified practitioners to peddle treatments ... By Adam Cresswell

Patients at Risk in Ugly Cosmetic Surgery Wars - "A turf war between plastic surgeons and self-styled "cosmetic surgeons" has left the industry dangerously unregulated, despite a damning report calling for change seven years ago." By Louise Hall

Cosmetic Surgery Regulations Lag in NSW -Nearly10 years after the State Government commissioned a report on cosmetic surgery, most of its main recommendations have not been implemented. By Valerie Lawson