( dpa ) - General practioners (GPs) have come under the scrutiny of the Singapore Health Ministry in a crackdown on shoddy aesthetic procedures, a news report said on Monday.
Amid an increase in people seeking cosmetic treatments, at least 20 doctors have been questioned to ensure those offering Botox and collagen injections are appropriately trained.
Botox is used to get rid of wrinkles. Treatments are usually once in three months.
Doctors who perform aesthetic procedures "need to substantiate them with scientific evidence on safety and efficacy," The Straits Times quoted a ministry spokeswoman as saying. The ministry is studying the regulation of aesthetic medicine, long sought by plastic surgeons.
GPs' unsafe practices will be referred to the Singapore Medical Council for disciplinary review.
The medical watchdog received six complaints last year on aesthetic procedures performed by GPs.
The surveillance ends the previous hands-off policy which favoured self-regulation by the medical profession.
A 28-year-old woman seeking fuller lips was injected with too much of the wrong type of filler and collagen, and ended up looking like a "duck," the newspaper said.
The GP brought her to a plastic surgeon who performed surgery to drain the filler and carry out follow-up treatments.