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Medicine

Southampton graduate awarded prize from the British Associate of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons

Published: 30 October 2015
Graduate Dr Sohaib Rufai
Southampton graduate Dr Sohaib Rufai (right) at the BAAPS 31st Annual Scientific Meeting 2015.

Southampton Faculty of Medicine graduate, Dr Sohaib Rufai, now academic Foundation Year 2 at University Hospital Southampton, has been awarded the prize for Best Presentation at the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) 31st Annual Scientific Meeting 2015.

Dr Rufai conducted a national re-review of clinical and marketing practices of the top 50 cosmetic surgery providers in the UK (as listed by Google) against the Department of Health Keogh guidelines, with an aim to safeguard patients.

The work was supervised by Dr Chris Davis, from Stanford University Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, CA, USA.

The results of the re-review followed publication of Sohaib and Chris’ initial review in 2013 in the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (JPRAS) and national press release of their findings by the BAAPS press office which was reported in main national newspapers; and by broadcasters including ITV News, Daybreak, BBC Radio 1, BBC Newsbeat and BBC's You and Yours.

This initial review investigated the practices of the 50 cosmetic surgery providers with an aim to safeguard patient and improve regulations. The review found low compliance with national guidelines for aesthetic surgery.

The 2015 re-review, conducted two years after the initial review, has demonstrated a general improvement in compliance with national guidelines, but also shows that non-compliance persists in some areas.

For instance, a key finding revealed that one in seven consultations still do not take place with the operating surgeon but with a salesperson or intermediary. This was worse than in 2013 where 90 per cent did take place with the surgeon.

The re-review findings also revealed that only three in every five providers stipulated the recommended two-week cooling-off period to their clients.

It was also discovered that non-compliant providers were typically chain companies rather than independent or small group practices.

BAAPS has published the 2015 re-review findings in another national press release.

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