Doctor reveals the danger of illegal aesthetic treatments

With over 400,000 followers on Instagram, aesthetic expert and GP Dr Ahmed El Muntasar is used to having a full direct messaging inbox. However, during lockdown he received DM after DM requesting treatments from people who were prepared to break confinement guidelines, or seeking medical advice for an illegal procedure gone wrong.

Dr Ahmed is proud of his carefully considered, medically-focused approach to treatment, with an emphasis on patient safety. He even turns away patients if a treatment isn’t the best thing for them. “I always perform a thorough consultation”, Dr Ahmed explains. “Being a fully qualified doctor, I must ensure my patient is looking for treatment for a justifiable reason. If someone has body dysmorphia, for example, I would guide them towards therapeutic help instead.”

However, at the height of lockdown, the doctor’s DMs started to fill up with people asking for a treatment, illegally. “I was approached by a number of people, concerned their treatments were wearing off, and asking for a top up. I worked for the NHS throughout lockdown, and turned everyone away. I know that a number of them subsequently had ‘back door’ treatments from non-medically qualified injectors.”

While non-essential medical treatments were banned during lockdown, Dr Ahmed reveals some untrained practitioners were secretly treating people. “With an experienced doctor, non-invasive treatments are safe, effective and can dramatically boost self-confidence. However, it’s so important you seek out the right person to treat you – and not during a nationwide lockdown!”

“One woman messaged me on Instagram, as the tip of her nose had gone black following an illegal non-surgical nose job that had cost her less than a £100. I told her she needed to go immediately to A&E to save her nose.”

Since lockdown has eased, Dr Amhed has performed a number of corrections. “So many new patients have come to me, who had visited non-medical injectors during lockdown”, Dr Amhed says. “They now realise the importance of having a correctly trained, safe clinician. We understand the anatomy of the face, and are equipped to act if there are side effects.”

Whilst Botulinum Toxin A is only available on prescription to medical professionals, dermal fillers are freely available. To ensure the highest safety levels, ethical aesthetics companies such as Sinclair Pharma will only train medical professionals - selected doctors and dentists and in some cases, highly experienced nurse practitioners - to treat with its products. As a result, the number of adverse incidents reported which relate to their products are extremely low.

As Dr Ahmed concludes: “Go to an expert for an aesthetic treatment. Your face, and health, are too important not to.”