Liposuction Regulatory Framework

21 Jul 2008

In April this year, the Ministry sought public feedback on its proposal to regulate liposuction as a special care service under the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Regulations.  Under such a framework, any clinic that offers liposuction would have to obtain prior approval from the Ministry and comply with specific licensing conditions.

2 The proposed framework has received broad support from the medical professional bodies and clinicians, who also provided us with useful feedback. The regulation of liposuction will ensure that all doctors who perform liposuction here adhere to common standards of practice and maintain the necessary competence in the interests of patient safety. 

3 An Accreditation Committee on Liposuction (ACL) has been set up, comprising three plastic surgeons, a dermatologist and a general practitioner, to assess and accredit medical practitioners to practise liposuction, to recommend training standards for the procedure and enable a peer review process to maintain medical standards. Please refer to Annex A for the composition of the committee.   

4 In view of the feedback received, MOH has further refined the licensing conditions.  The key revisions are as follows:

(a) The cooling off period for patients to consider before the procedure is carried out will be a minimum of 7 days, instead of the proposed 15 days. MOH is agreeable to suggestions that 7 days is adequate for patients to consider the information provided and if necessary, to seek a second opinion. Clinics are exempted from imposing the 7-day cooling off period for foreigners who come to Singapore specifically for liposuction.

(b) No financial transactions, contracts or any inappropriate constraints on the patient related to liposuction may be carried out or effected during the cooling off period;

(c) Clinics offering liposuction are to employ additional dedicated and trained nursing or medical staff to specifically monitor patients who are sedated for liposuction;

(d) Liposuction will be prohibited in medical clinics for patients with Body Mass Index of more than 28 as such patients generally have higher risks of intra- and post-operative complications and would need close monitoring in a hospital setting.

5 The regulatory framework will take effect from 1 November 2008.  A summary of the new framework is at Annex B ). All clinics that wish to offer new or continue with existing liposuction services beyond 1 November 2008 will need to obtain approval from the Ministry and comply with the special licensing conditions.  All doctors who perform liposuction will need to be accredited by the ACL.  In addition, they will be subject to a mandatory quality assurance framework.  This means that the doctor must keep proper patient medical records and document his patients’ outcomes and satisfaction, and report any adverse events arising from liposuction to the ACL.  He would also be required to participate regularly in peer review and practise improvement programmes.

6  The new regulatory framework on liposuction aims to protect patients and safeguard the public’s interest by ensuring that liposuction is carried out safely.  Nevertheless, MOH would like to caution the public that liposuction is a non-essential, aesthetic procedure that carries significant risks.  It should not be regarded as treatment for weight-reduction.  Patients who wish to lose weight are advised to exercise regularly and control their diet under the supervision of their Family Physicians.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH

21 JULY 2008

• Annex A (9 KB) 
  

• Annex B (18 KB)