Plastic Surgery in Geneva

The low cost aesthetic, this modern mirage

The world of beauty has become a jungle that should be deciphered instead of believing in miracles.

Aziza Gillieron is delighted. Over the past few weeks, this experienced beautician has finally found an institute at her feet. In its new establishment on rue de l'Aubépine, you can treat yourself to a youthful cure under the tickle of a high-tech machine, cut your hair or have a manicure. Multiplying proposals under the same banner is the latest trend in beauty.

The lady proudly tours the owner and lists the various state-of-the-art devices in her possession. All are destined to make ridges, cellulite or fine lines disappear and their names smell good in the 21st century: Vacustyler, IRH Cocoon or Q-Frenquency e +... "For this last machine for example, exclusive in French-speaking Switzerland, I followed a two-week training course. It is an anti-aging device that is almost as effective as a facelift, but requires real know-how and some anatomical knowledge," she explains. Here, no low cost, only quality and mandatory customer follow-up. An ethic that is becoming increasingly rare in the merciless world of modern beauty.

Because if high-tech institutes are growing like mushrooms in Geneva and Lausanne, not all of them are equal. Many salons are appearing, offering services as varied as tooth whitening, cryolipolysis, endermology or photo-epilation under the same roof, often at unbeatable prices. With, at the other end of the state-of-the-art machine, professionals with little or no training.

"The world of aesthetics and well-being has taken a resolutely high-tech turn," confirms Christine Braendli, Director of the Swiss Association of Beauty Salon Owners. But the legislation in this field remains very vague and pseudo-estheticians take advantage of it to train on YouTube and buy their machines cheaper abroad. They end up with devices that are sometimes too powerful, without knowing or measuring the risks for their clients. It then becomes very easy to cause damage, sometimes significant."

True or false cryolipolysis

Burns, necrosis, irreparably damaged skin... The "accidents" that take place in Dr Michele Zanzi's office follow one another and are similar. President of the group of plastic surgeons of the Vaud Medical Society, this specialist sighs: "I recover from failures every day... At the moment, aesthetic medicine is the Wild West! Legislation is so poorly drafted in this area that there is a lot of money to be made, often at the expense of people's health."

To lure the barge that dreams of a dream body at a lower cost, some institutes do not hesitate to flirt with lies. The explosion in the supply of cryolipolysis, a cold slimming method, is a clear example. "Some salons claim to "destroy" fat cells with these machines, but that's not true! warns Christine Braendli. Simply because a beautician has no right to destroy living cells, it is the privilege of doctors. They just have to "empty" them with non-invasive machines." The Federal Act on Protection against the Dangers of Non-Ionizing Radiation and Sound (ISDR) may well bring some semblance of a sheriff back into the city. The text provides for measures for cold machines, flash lamps used for depilation or ultrasound devices used in aesthetics. The appearance of a certificate of competence should therefore eventually sort out the wheat from the chaff. "We even see hair salons offering hyaluronic acid injections," says Dr. Michele Zanzi in alarm.

White coat syndrome

Because the danger also comes from the syringe. Dr. Kouroche Amini, president of the plastic surgeons group of the Geneva Medical Association (AMG), believes it is high time to alert the consumer. "To make more money, some people do anything. Irresponsible doctors or industrialists sell injectable products such as hyaluronic acid to fight wrinkles, or even drugs such as botox, to people who are not trained or even doctors. It's extremely dangerous! A poorly administered injection into the eye area, for example, can cause irreversible damage or even blindness. It's a medical procedure that can't be improvised."

The white coats themselves are not free from criticism. In the viewfinder of the FMH (Federation of Swiss Doctors) doctors, we find professionals who call themselves "aesthetic doctors", a title that has no legal existence. Another reason for anger: doctors, whether gynaecologists, general practitioners or psychiatrists, who offer botox injections to supplement their income without being specialized and therefore properly trained. And finally, practitioners who do not have a RCC, this contract number binding a doctor to SantéSuisse and which allows the reimbursement of his benefits by the compulsory health insurance. "We see doctors, for example, in beauty clinics in Geneva or Vaud, offering estimates to patients and then operating on them on the other side of the border, in order to reduce costs," explains Dr. Kouroche Amini. But clients do not know that with such practices, they are no longer followed or covered in case of complications. The AMG is calling for more regulation!"

Thus, in Geneva, of the 78 plastic surgeons listed in the register of medical professions, only 16 are members of the AMG. "This means that others are not known, not who they are, what they do or how they practice. This is a real problem, but it is not the authorities' priority to legislate on it," says Dr. Kouroche Amini. The same applies to the canton of Vaud, where only 24 professionals belong to the Société vaudoise de médecine.

The only solution is prevention. Dr. Michele Zanzi concluded: "In aesthetics, what is hidden behind low-cost tariffs are potentially risks. As with food, quality has a price. And health is too precious for people to accept to sell it off in the wrong hands."