Cosmetic Surgery Standards
View information about cosmetic surgery certification and other resources
Cosmetic Surgery Certification
Overview
The Intercollegiate Cosmetic Surgery Certification Scheme is supported by a process that aims to provide accreditation of competences (including professional behaviours, clinical skills, knowledge and experience) in defined areas of cosmetic surgery.
It was initially developed by the Royal College of Surgeons of England through a Cosmetic Surgery Interspecialty Committee comprising a wide range of stakeholders including representatives of the surgical colleges in the UK and Ireland, the relevant Surgical Specialty Associations (SSAs), patients, providers and regulators. Its role was to respond to the review into the regulation of cosmetic interventions in 2013, led by the Department of Health, which recommended a more robust regulatory framework that provides protection against the potential risks from cosmetic procedures. The certification process is an important step in this direction by recognising those surgeons who have the appropriate training, qualifications and experience in the area of cosmetic surgery in which they practise, by supporting patient choice and by promoting confidence in the quality of training and practice in cosmetic surgery.
The process and the criteria on which it relies have been reviewed and updated by the Intercollegiate Cosmetic Surgery Oversight Committee.
How to certify
Certification is open to all surgeons who are on the GMC specialist register, perform cosmetic surgery and are in a relevant surgical specialty. There are ten available areas of certification. To gain certification, simply:
- Submit your application and accompanying evidence via the online portal
- Attend the RCS new virtual masterclass — contact them for more information.
Following successful completion, you will be added to a public list of certified surgeons
and receive a certification certificate.
Resources for Cosmetic Surgeons
The RCS has also published Professional Standards for Cosmetic Surgery which stipulate that only surgeons with the appropriate training and experience should undertake cosmetic surgery, as well as the ethics and behaviour expected of them.
For more information please visit their website or view a short summary
The following documents set out the standards for surgeons providing cosmetic procedures.
RCS England would like cosmetic surgery providers to routinely collect and report on Q-PROMS for all patients receiving augmentation mammoplasty.
Patient satisfaction with the outcomes of cosmetic surgery is of singular importance. Completion of PROMs, pre- and post-operatively, allows for a patient's own measurement of their health and health-related quality of lie, and how this has been changed by the surgical intervention. PROMs are distinct from more general measures of satisfaction and experience, being procedure-specific, validated and constructed to reduce bias effect
ABS and BAPRAS have issued an statement on UK use of biologic or synthetic mesh in Breast surgery.
This statement follows the Safety communication released by the FDA on 31st March 2021.
The Royal Colleges of Surgeons of England, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Ireland have published a code of conduct for surgeons performing cosmetic surgery. The purpose of this document is to create a cross-specialty Code of Conduct that sets out the acceptable behaviours expected of all surgeons undertaking cosmetic or aesthetic practice, within the context of the GMC’s Guidance for Doctors (2016), in order, to ensure the highest standards of clinical care and ethical practice. Surgeons seeking certification by the Intercollegiate Cosmetic Surgery Certification Scheme are required to formally accept and agree to abide by the requirements set out in this document. The Code of Conduct aims not only to promote individual good practice but to encourage the creation of professional relationships, networks, and communities to share good practice, discuss complex cases and address the risk to patients from surgeons working in isolation from their peers.
There are a growing number of women who believe that they have a condition, which they have called Breast Implant Illness. This condition consists of a very broad range of non-specific symptoms such as hair loss, brain fog, general fatigue, fibromyalgia, ME, irritable bowel syndrome, skin conditions, lupus, rheumatoid, SLE, Reynaud’s.
A review of the evidence has been provided by Floyd and Miranda on behalf of BAAPS and example literature abstracts are also available
On the 17th January 2020 the MHRA released an updated statement on the symptoms sometimes referred to as Breast Implant Illness (BII). This clarifies their current position on this issue and outlines their ongoing work in this area.
The statement can be read here
The statement encourages anyone experiencing symptoms they believe to be associated with their breast implants to speak to their surgeon and to report to the MHRA via the Yellow Card scheme
