- © 2004 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors
Physician regulatory bodies in BC and Alberta are cracking down on plastic surgeons who promote their services in “extreme makeover” and other contests.
Last summer's Vancouver Extraordinary Makeover Experience, where 2 participants won $100 000 in prizes, didn't sit well with the regulatory bodies.
“It's distasteful. We're trying to put brakes on this,” said Dr. Peter Seland, deputy registrar (ethics) of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC.
The college added prizes to its list of promotional activities deemed “inappropriate.” It warned that physicians would be obliged to provide the surgery even if the patient were unsuitable, that the validity of informed consent could be challenged and that prizes for surgery diminish public vigilance “for the potential serious consequences of medical or surgical intervention.”
The guidelines do not expressly prohibit prizes, said Seland.
The Alberta College voted unanimously this fall to prohibit doctors from using discount coupons, early bird specials, time-limited prices and contests to attract patients. In September, a Calgary nightclub had offered female patrons a chance to win free breast implants, worth $6500.
The Vancouver contest organizer Holly Carinci called the college's opposition “hypocrisy.” She said, “The message they're getting across is if you have a deep pocketbook, it's okay with us if you go to our surgeons.”
Due to the controversy surrounding the competition, Vancouver contest sponsor Dr. Mark Godley of the False Creek Surgical Centre decided not to supply the prize surgery. He did not reply to an interview request from CMAJ. Instead the surgery was done in Winnipeg. One winner, Dana Gill, 26, had abdominoplasty, liposuction, breast augmentation and rhinoplasty.
The Vancouver Women's Health Collective, which protested the contest, welcomed the crackdown by the Alberta and BC colleges.
“I hope that all provinces follow suit,” said spokeswoman Caryn Duncan. — Deborah Jones, Vancouver