Curbs on Plastic Surgery Clinics Promised

The government will come up with measures to regulate plastic surgery clinics and protect patients' rights amid a series of reports of malpractice, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced Wednesday.

It will ban ads using before-and-after photos of patients, celebrity promotions and patients' alleged testimony. Ads on subway trains or buses or in theaters will have to be submitted for review.

The ministry will also draw up a standard consent form for patients that prohibits the use of their sometimes embarrassing before-and-after photos in advertising by clinics.

Clinics must brief patients or their guardians in advance, and write down the names of all surgeons involved on a surgery log. They will be encouraged to install CCTV cameras in front of operating rooms to check who is performing surgery.

Clinics must have essential emergency equipment in operating rooms such as respirators, intubation tube guides and uninterruptible power supply devices.

Medical staff will be prohibited from appearing on TV or radio or giving interviews to newspapers to talk up dietary supplements, medicines and sanitary aids.

This aims to prevent them from marketing such products on home shopping channels.

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