NMC further said that Aesthetic surgeries are not emergency surgery and hence is no case for allowing untrained person to do it.
“Such surgeries including hair transplant should be performed only with an anesthesia back up with the availability of all the requisite resuscitative equipment and drugs and with adequate preoperative clearances from the medical specialists and the anesthetist," said Yogendra Malik, Member Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB), NMC in a communication warning all stakeholders such has general public about harms of getting such treatment from unqualified people.
“Aesthetic surgeries including hair transplant require skills and training in appropriate patient selection, differential diagnoses and techniques and appropriate post procedures care to optimise outcomes and therefore, cannot be performed by anyone, anywhere. It is suggested that anyone who wish to perform should be adequately knowledgeable and trained and should ensure that they have adequate infrastructure and manpower to manage such issues. Assistants or technicians should be from medical background such as nurses, OT technicians and pharmacists. However, they need to be provided structured, systematic and proper training in all aspects of aesthetic surgiers as well as the techniques for disinfection, sterilization, patient communication etc. Surgical technicians should perform the surgery only under the direct supervision of the treating physician," Malik said.
“Ghost surgery (substitutions of surgeons without the patient’s knowledge and permission, malpractice would also constitute. Unethical practices such as fee cutting false claims such as advertising with false/exaggerated claims should not be indulged in. Like any other surgical procedure, record keeping for all aesthetic surgeries including hair transplants is mandatory. Violation of these guidelines will be seen as misconduct or offence as per existing law," Malik said.
NMC said that the Centres where Aesthetic procedures including hair transplant are performed should be registered as a Day Care Centre or Hospital with state/ central government and should have a well –equipped postoperative recovery room with facilities for monitoring of vitals including BP, ECG, Oxygen Saturation etc.
Besides this, the patient should be well informed about the procedure and all needed pre-operative investigations, complications and requirements of procedure to be repeated etc. “Patient should meet the doctor, who is going to perform the hair transplant and know his qualification and experience," said NMC official
Patients should also be aware of where his/her required procedure is being conducted and whether the hospital is well equipped to conduct hair transplants or aesthetic procedures or not.
