Beauty salons in Serbia under scrutiny of inspectors for carrying out medical procedures illegally

Photo: Tanjug/Dimitrije Nikolic

The Ministry of Health is conducting intensified checks, which is done jointly by health and sanitary inspectors, of unregistered entities that perform medical procedures related to "anti-aging" medicine, because of the increasing occurrence of these being performed in beauty salons and other business entities outside healthcare institutions and private medical practice.

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"Medical procedures related to 'anti-aging' medicine are methods and procedures to prevent, diagnose, treat and rehabilitate changes caused by aging, i.e., methods whose application has a beneficial effect on health and physical appearance, and which are carried out at the request of an individual," reminded the Ministry of Health.

Such medical procedures include techniques to compensate for loss of skin volume, subcutaneous and mucous membranes in order to remove signs of aging (injection of dermal fillers), application of botox to smooth out wrinkles, minimally invasive face lifting techniques (thread lifting), regenerative medicine - removing signs of aging, mesotherapy, chemical peels, collagen induction therapy, carboxytherapy, electromagnetic radiation.

"The listed medical procedures can be performed exclusively in healthcare institutions and in private medical practice offices established as general or specialist practice of a medical doctor, dentist, i.e., a polyclinic, and to whom the minister of health has issued a permit to carry out certain 'anti-aging' medical procedures. It is not allowed to provide these services in beauty and other salons, or in any space that is not a (state) health institution or the said type of private practice, regardless of whether the service is provided by a doctor or another healthcare worker," said a statement issued by the Ministry of Health.

In this way, the ministry is once again urging citizens, for the sake of their own safety, to use these services only in authorized health institutions and private practices.

In the last few months, there have been more and more cases of men and women disfigured by fake cosmetic surgeons. The most recent example is the fake doctor S.K. (23), who is a masseur by trade, and who performed surgeries on women, along with his mother D.K. (49), who is a florist.

For five years he ran an illegal office and a operating room in the very heart of Belgrade.

It all came to light when women started to post about their disfigurement on social networks. The prosecution has launched an investigation into this case.

(Telegraf.rs)