A doctor who became a TikTok sensation has been banned from performing cosmetic surgery in Australia.
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) has imposed a ban on Dr. Daniel Aronov and instructed him to remove his social media posts, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
With over 13 million followers, Dr. Aronov become the most-followed cosmetic surgeon on the platform with his educational videos on medicine while sharing an insight into his job by showing some of the kind of procedures he performs on patients - and in typical TikTok style, there were a few dance moves sprinkled in too.
Though the account was deleted two weeks ago he has since made a second account), as some of his former patients have now come forward to share their negative experiences of going under his knife.
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Speaking to 9Now’s A Current Affair programme, patient Jackie said that she was left with pain and a lump in her chin after receiving received treatment for a facelift from Dr. Aronov.
“He’s in the middle of surgery and he is stopping, checking the video, then saying no I don’t want that, cut that out, do it again,” she told the news outlet.
Jackie continued: “I was lying there shaking, in shock, in pain and just traumatised as to what he had just done to me and he was on the other side of the door doing a TikTok video.”
“The fact that AHPRA has been incentivised to actually do something after years of complaints, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. It’s surreal to me,” she added in response to the latest news on the doctor’s ban.
Meanwhile, another patient has come forward to say he received liposuction surgery from Dr. Aronov and claimed he was left with a deformed fatty lump on his stomach as a result.
“If I knew then what I know now, then I wouldn’t have let Dr Aronov come anywhere near me,” the patient told A Current Affair.
Despite his ban on performing cosmetic surgery, Dr Aronov can still treat patients as a general practitioner (GP) - however, he remains under the strict supervision of an AHPRA-approved supervisor.
Through his lawyer, Dr Aronov told the program: “It would be inappropriate for me to comment on any matters that are currently the subject of any AHPRA inquiry.”
“Public safety is our number one priority and we take all notifications seriously,” the AHPRA told LadBible.
“Confidentiality provisions in the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law prevent us from commenting on individual matters unless that information is publicly available, such as conditions on the public register of practitioners or an outcome of a tribunal hearing.
“Conditions on Dr Aronov’s registration were imposed by the Medical Board of Australia on 26 November 2021. They are not time-limited and will remain until they are revoked by the Medical Board of Australia.”
“Our enquiries in relation to this practitioner are ongoing so we cannot comment further at this time.”
Elsewhere, AHPRA the Medical Board of Australia have announced they are conducting a review of patient safety issues in the cosmetic sector, which will look at “how to strengthen risk-based regulation of practitioners in the industry.”
AHPRA CEO Martin Fletcher said in a statement: ‘Some worrying features of the cosmetic industry set it apart from conventional medical practice, including corporate business models which are alleged to place profit over patient safety, no medical need for cosmetic procedures, limited factual information for consumers and exponential growth in social media that emphasises benefits and downplays risks,’ Mr Fletcher said.
“This review will ensure that the specific regulatory responsibilities of Ahpra and National Boards are effectively protecting the public in our part of the regulatory system for cosmetic surgery.”
