Give Your Doctor A Checkup
Due to ‘legal loopholes’ in the Australian health system, anyone with a six year medical degree can call themselves a ‘cosmetic surgeon’. As a patient, this exposes you to a huge range of doctors with extremely varied surgical training and experience.
A ‘cosmetic surgeon’ is not recognised as a Specialist surgeon or Specialist Plastic Surgeon by any of the regulating authorities such as Medicare Australia and the Medical Board of Australia, and they cannot register themselves as a surgeon with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
The Australasian Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ASAPS) is reminding patients of the need to do their homework and ensure that their treating medical practitioner is registered before agreeing to undergo any medical procedure.
How to check your doctor’s registration:
1. Visit the AHPRA website at ahpra.gov.au
2. In the “Look up a practitioner” section, enter your doctor’s surname and select the health profession of Medical Practitioner
3. Click the Search button and locate your doctor in the results to see if they’re registered, and what they’re accredited to practice
If your doctor is not registered with the Specialty of Surgery with the Specialty Field of Plastic Surgery, then they are not a Specialist Plastic Surgeon.
For example, a ‘cosmetic surgeon’ may have a Specialist registration in General practice (GP), whereas a Specialist Plastic Surgeon has Specialist registration in Surgery, specifically in the field of Plastic Surgery:
‘Cosmetic surgeon’
Specialist Plastic Surgeon
By following these steps to check your doctor’s registration, you can be confident your surgeon has the necessary training and qualifications to perform invasive plastic and cosmetic surgery.
To view the AHPRA registration pages for our Specialist Plastic Surgeons, you can quickly search their AHPRA Registration Number:
- Dr Brigid Corrigan – MED0001220375
- Dr Mark Hanikeri – MED0001535106
- Dr Bernard Luczak – MED0001545869
- Dr Rohan Page – MED0001531370
- Dr Vij Vijayasekaran – MED0001534300
- Dr Anthony Williams – MED0001534292
To discuss your surgical options with one of our Specialist Plastic Surgeons, click here.
