Beauty parlour deaths and the medical profession

Recently, the society of Hong Kong was awakened with a shock by a death at the hands of a medical practitioner administering a contaminated homemade blood preparation to a patient for the purpose of rejuvenating her appearance.1 Another recent occurrence concerned another practitioner performing liposuction on a client that resulted in death on table.2 These instances highlight the problem of registered medical practitioners without recognised, relevant training in plastic surgery administering potentially high-risk treatments in ambulatory facilities not subject to regulation. The Food and Health Bureau should commission authorities from the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine and the Hospital Authority to help develop and institute this system in place. The second Working Group under the Steering Committee on Review of the Regulation of Private Healthcare Facilities has made proposals on anticipated risks and whether a particular procedure should be allowed to be undertaken in a particular category of facility.