With 500,000 cosmetic procedures in the past year, from botox to boob jobs, Australia has officially overtaken America as the country with the most cosmetic surgery operations per capita.
Australians underwent 20,000 boob jobs and 30,000 liposuction procedures in 2017, according to the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery (ACCS).
The nation has forked out more than $1 billion a year for cosmetic procedures.
Latest estimates are that $350 million worth of botox procedures were carried out last year, the ACCS said. Dermal fillers and laser treatments make up the rest of the top five most popular procedures.
The increased interest in cosmetic surgery has led to calls for the practice to be more properly regulated.
“Patients have no way of knowing whether their surgeon is properly qualified and has undergone specific training in cosmetic surgery,” Dr Ron Bezic, ACCS president told the Daily Telegraph.
“The system is a complete lottery for patients.
“There is no simple national and easily recognisable way for patients to know whether they are in safe hands.”
At present, anyone from fly-in fly-out operators with no qualifications to medical graduates and GPs can give themselves the title of “cosmetic surgeon” because the surgery is not a recognised speciality.
Have you ever had or considered cosmetic surgery? What did you think of the results?
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