Volume 196 - Issue 4
National guidelines for regulation of laser sales, training and use are urgently needed
Author: Charles Cope
Med J Aust 2012; 196 (4): 240. || doi: 10.5694/mja12.10086
Published online: 5 March 2012
Published online: 5 March 2012
To the Editor: Non-surgical cosmetic procedures have rapidly increased over the past 15 years, and although there are no reliable figures for Australia, there was an eightfold increase in such procedures in the United States between 1997 and 2010.1
Practitioners in the cosmetic field are seeing more frequent complications (eg, burns, scarring) from laser treatments that have been performed by untrained or inexperienced operators, including beauty therapists. These treatments are often performed as walk-in procedures in shopping centres.
A cosmetic surgery report to the New South Wales Minister for Health in 1999 outlined a number of issues with laser use in Australia.2 More than 12 years later, very few of these issues have been addressed. There are more regulations on the sale and use of laser pointers in Australia than there are for lasers in health care.
The Australian/New Zealand Standard 4173:2004, Guide to the safe use of lasers in health care, limits and classifies lasers used for medical purposes according to the degree of hazard. The Standard recognises that all personnel using and handling lasers should have training appropriate to the task they perform.3
Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania have some regulations regarding medical grade lasers, but there are currently no regulations enforcing the Standard in other jurisdictions. There is also no industry standard for the necessary skills, qualifications and training for use of lasers, or regulation of these.
National guidelines for the use of medical grade (Class 3B and 4) lasers need to be developed urgently and should address several issues to protect consumers:
Medical grade lasers should only be sold to medical practices where the operator can be observed by a doctor at least some of the time, and complications can be discussed with the doctor.
Medical practices should be licensed under the relevant Radiation Act in each jurisdiction (eg, Radiation Control Act 1990 in NSW) and listed on a website.
All users of the laser in each licensed practice should be registered and individually licensed.
National guidelines for accredited laser-safety courses should be established, ensuring adequate training and certification for obtaining a licence.
Competing interests
I operate a plastic, cosmetic and reconstructive surgery practice that uses laser therapy.
References
- American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Cosmetic Surgery National Data Bank statistics 2010. http://www.surgery.org/sites/default/files/Stats2010_1.pdf (accessed Feb 2012).
- Health Care Complaints Commission. The cosmetic surgery report: report to the NSW Minister for Health, October 1999. Sydney: HCCC, 1999. http://www.hccc.nsw.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/158/Cosm%20report. pdf.aspx (accessed Feb 2012).
- Australian/New Zealand Standard. Guide to the safe use of lasers in health care. AS/NZS 4173:2004. Sydney: Standards Australia, 2004. 0_CBBHDICG