Cosmetic surgery is a bloody boom industry in Australia.
From nose jobs to boob lifts, botox to lipo, each year we spend approximately $1 billion on cosmetic treatments. At a per capita rate, that’s 40 per cent more than ‘Muricans.
But despite all the money we’re funnelling into the pursuit of plastification, there’s an alarming lack of educational recourses for patients both pre and post-surgery. At the moment, the way patients chose a surgeon can be quite arbitrary; it’s usually through friends, Google reviews or unregulated online forums.
As of today though, a not for profit called Trusted Surgeons has emerged that aims to educate and establish an online platform that will assist individuals considering cosmetic and elective procedures so that they can make a safe, informed and educated decision.
The website will combine reviews and a ‘question and answer’ platform which is consumer driven, non-bias and trustworthy.
Trusted Surgeons is different to all other platforms in that they’re not powered by surgeons only interested in generating leads, or suppliers advertising. It’s an educational platform for everyday people looking to learn more, without having to book a consultation.
It comes not a moment too soon. Late last year numerous medical bodies began pushing for stricter crackdowns on ‘cosmetic surgery cowboys’ who were operating without adequate training. It came after the tragic death of 35-year-old woman in a Chippendale salon following a botched boob job.
In a statement, Nicole Montgomery, cosmetic surgery nurse and Founder of Trusted Surgeons, explained that the not for profit came about after she realised that there are no post-operative support platforms for patients in Australia.
Much thought and careful consideration has gone into the decision to set up the ‘TS Foundation of Australia’ but an ever-increasing amount of calls from patients that required someone to just listen to them and provide them with some guidance having had nowhere else to turn too has pushed us in this direction.
Consumers are confused and often make surgical decisions based on inaccurate information from social media, google and directory sites. These poor decisions often lead to horrendous outcomes and quite often place an unnecessary strain on the public health system.
Education is the key. Accurate information that is trustworthy and is evaluated by a board of plastic surgeons needs to be disseminated to the public. Trusted Surgeons aim to minimise confusion and help patients make well informed decisions around surgery.
We want to create a voice for the patients, weather they are seeking surgery for the first time or returning after a procedure has not gone according to the plan.
And that’s nothing but good.
