A Pretoria GP who performs liposuction and Brazilian butt lifts (BBLs) on patients has slammed critics accusing her of not being authorised to carry out the procedures.
The association representing plastic surgeons had raised concerns over GPs performing cosmetic procedures like BBL and liposuction, arguing that only specialists were qualified to do these.
The Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons of South Africa (Aprassa) was responding to a recent Sunday Times article highlighting how increasing numbers of black women in South Africa were undergoing BBLs.
Dr Pertunia Mathibe, a GP and founder of the Centre for Body Sculpting in Pretoria, which is popular for BBLs and liposuction, had been interviewed about her practice.
However, in response, Aprassa said Mathibe, popularly known as Dr Pert, was not authorised to do BBLs, and that she was in breach of rule 21 of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), which stipulates who was allowed to conduct cosmetic procedures.
“She is a GP and as such is not allowed to perform cosmetic surgery like liposuction and (the) Brazilian butt lift,” said Aprassa president Dr Craig Wittstock.
Injecting fat into the buttocks, which is how a BBL is done, could be a dangerous and even fatal procedure, he said. “It is widely regarded as the procedure with the highest mortality rate among cosmetic surgeries.”
HPCSA spokesperson Priscilla Sekhonyana said all practitioners who have received the appropriate training are allowed to perform BBLs and liposuction.
“Cosmetic medicine, or non-surgical cosmetic procedures, may be performed by any practitioner registered with the HPCSA, including GPs and dentists, provided that, if they perform cosmetic medicine procedures which result in permanent anatomical and/or physiological changes, they (are) appropriately educated, trained and experienced,” she said.
Cosmetic surgery, or any other form of surgery, is ordinarily performed by specialists in plastic and reconstructive surgery, “but may also be performed by other qualified practitioners or specialists (who) have (received) formal, structured training”, Sekhonyana said.
These practitioners need “assessment and ongoing professional development in certain aspects of cosmetic surgery relevant to those particular specialities”.
Wittstock said: “There should be no confusion as to whether GPs can perform cosmetic surgery. The response you got from the HPCSA is rather non-specific.”
Specialists typically undergo a minimum of a further six years of training, and this “regulated and structured training cannot be replaced by various ‘short courses’”, he added.
Mathibe said she does not perform procedures like tummy tucks, but only BBL and liposuction, for which she has been trained in courses given by the American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine Southern Africa.
“I wrote for a diploma, which is divided into three levels. I did level 1, which was a certificate, and level 2, which was a diploma, which I got,” she said.
In 2017, she opened an aesthetic centre in Pretoria, where she did intravenous vitamin and facial treatments.
She then applied for a course in fat transfer and liposuction in Dubai, involving theoretical and practical training and which was “attended not only by GPs but by dermatologists and plastic surgeons”.
She feels unfairly attacked by Aprassa.
“I am not a plastic surgeon, but a GP. However, as for not being allowed to do what I am doing…as long as you are well-trained in cosmetic medicine and have experience, you can do that, which is exactly what I am doing.”
TimesLIVE PressReader article – Surgeons and medical body butt heads over butt lifts (Open access)
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Brazilian butt lift: Behind the world's most dangerous cosmetic surgery
Warning over the dangers of ‘Brazilian butt lift’ surgery
The Bottom Line – the costs and risks of the butt-lift