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full screen The Swedish Care Inspectorate (Ivo) has inspected businesses that perform cosmetic surgery and aesthetic injections. Archive image. Photo: Hadi Mizban/AP/TT
Cosmetic operations that led to the death of patients and aesthetic injection treatments that risked permanent damage, such as blindness or brain damage.
These are some of the very serious shortcomings that the Inspectorate for Care and Care (Ivo) found when, over a two-year period, they inspected businesses that carry out aesthetic procedures and treatments.
After two years of supervision, Ivo states in a final report that there are extensive deficiencies and risks within many of the businesses that perform aesthetic surgery or perform aesthetic injection treatments.
– On the one hand, there are those who are unserious and operate injection operations without the required identification. But there are also some businesses where it is a matter of not actually having knowledge of what is required to run this type of business, says Göran Olsson, who is head of unit at Ivo.
Twelve banned
The supervision of 86 businesses has led to twelve businesses that are dangerous to patients being banned and twenty-two businesses being ordered to take measures against serious problems within a certain time. A number of actors have also chosen to wind down their operations after the inspection.
Ivo has also filed charges against 38 people within the audited businesses who broke the law in their professional practice and thereby exposed patients to great risks.
The supervision has shown, among other things, that it is common for unlicensed personnel to perform aesthetic injection treatments such as botox and fillers. Such treatments may only be performed by doctors, dentists or nurses.
Even if the treatments are minor in nature, if performed by people with insufficient training, they can cause blindness, lung damage and brain damage.
Fewer but worse
According to the report, oversight revealed fewer, but in many cases worse, deficiencies in practices that performed cosmetic surgery. Above all, worse when it comes to the consequences for patients.
– When it comes to the aesthetic surgery operations, there are not quite as many deficiencies, but the deficiencies that are there can have much more serious consequences. It is because they perform more complicated surgical procedures where patients are often put to sleep, which can be a risk, says Göran Olsson.
As an example of this, the report mentions that a doctor without the required specialist skills put a patient to sleep without dosing the drugs based on the patient’s height and weight. The patient could not be awakened after the operation and died. In another case, a patient died as a result of acute complications in connection with anesthesia before a surgical procedure.
FACT So you will find the right one among the beauty procedures
The Inspectorate for Care and Care (Ivo) has put together a checklist for those who are going to undergo an aesthetic treatment and want to make sure that the performer is serious.
1. The person carrying out the treatment must have identification as a nurse, doctor or dentist. Aesthetic surgery may only be performed by doctors and dentists.
2. You must receive written information about, among other things:
that the consideration period for injection treatments is two days. For surgical interventions, the consideration period is seven days.
costs for the treatment chosen.
the expected treatment course and outcome.
which patient insurance has been taken out for the business.
contact person in case of complications that arise after the treatment.
significant risks of complications and side effects.
that the activity is registered in Ivo’s care provider register.
Source: The Inspectorate for Care and Care
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