Going for a hair transplant, a liposuction, botox or any other procedure to enhance your looks has never been this dangerous. Unqualified practioners are turning cosmetic dreams into life-threatening nightmares
Take the case of two engineers in Lucknow who died after receiving hair transplants recently. Similarily, a man in Kochi is fighting for his life after contracting an illness post a hair transplant. In Thiruvananthapuram, a woman software engineer, who underwent liposuction, had five toes and four fingers removed.
“Firstly, the qualification required to do these kind of procedures is MBBS. Unfortunately, there are lot of people who are non-MBBS, who are doing it,” points out Dr Rashmi Shetty.
She says a better qualification to have is a postgraduate who has either a dermatology or specialization surgery or plastic surgery as a specialization. “Please check your doctor’s degree with the local medical board (of the respective states) so you know their qualification,” she advises.
In fact, the Maharashtra medical council has made it compulsory for all MBBS doctors to register themselves, which gives out all the information required (about the doctor) which enables people to talk to them, take a look at their clinics. “Most individuals encounter difficulties when they opt for less expensive products; ultimately, they will bear the consequences. Sometimes even the small things like fillers could get so dangerous that you could lose a blood supply to an area, as there are cases where the tip of the nose has been completely disfigured, lips have been disfigured, and people have even gone blind, so all of these procedures have to be done by an expert,” she says.
With no expertise or knowledge of these procedures, anything can go wrong. “If not done properly, especially while doing fillers, these procedures can lead to loss of blood supply to other parts of the body,” warns Dr Rashmi Shetty, pointing out that there have been cases where the tip of the nose or lips completely got disfigured and some people even lost their eye sight as the procedures were not performed by experts.
She says there is a new type of dermal filler known as Sculptra, which is going to be launched in India soon. “Even for this, one needs experts as there are a lot of permanent complications that can happen with it as it is not easy to undo.” Like other hyaluronic acid fillers, which has been widely used in India, the only saving grace was that it is undoable. “So these are things that one needs to know. Above all, experience of a doctor holds the key to success of such procedures,” Dr Shetty says.
More business oriented
A lot of clinics are opened by either business establishments or sometimes opened by people who are not adequately qualified. “They may have doctors come and go. But what’s the interest with the patients? Are they more business oriented, more patient oriented? All these are things that one needs to really look at before you get a procedure done,” actress says Koena Mitra, whose botched-up nose job affected her career.
Koena insists it is important to check if those performing procedures are board-certified doctors. “It’s a rule in other countries. I have known many such beauty clinics where people train their staff in just about 3 months and then they are “official laser therapists,” she says.
A dentist performing as a cosmetic surgeon is a new threat. “Complete research is needed before getting any therapy. Indians take it too casually. Social media is now a new training school, I see 1000s of random people teaching therapies online. It’s very scary!” adds Koena.
Need medical interventions
As a board-certified Cosmetic Surgeon, Dr Guru Karna Vemula says the recent spate of tragic incidents across the country is a stark reminder of a growing concern over the increasing number of unqualified and unregulated individuals performing medical aesthetic procedures without proper training, licence, or infrastructure.
“Procedures like hair transplants, liposuction, Botox, chemical peels, and laser treatments are not merely cosmetic — they are medical interventions that require thorough knowledge of human anatomy, sterile protocols, emergency preparedness, and sound clinical judgment,” he points out.
When done correctly by certified professionals in licensed medical facilities, these procedures are generally safe, effective, and transformative. “However, when performed in salons, backroom clinics, or by individuals lacking medical education, they can result in catastrophic complications — even death,” says Dr Vemula.
India is currently facing a regulatory vacuum in the aesthetic medicine sector.
“Many individuals operate under the guise of “cosmetologists” or “aesthetic practitioners” with no oversight. In many cases, patients are unaware that their providers lack MBBS or higher medical qualifications,” he says.
The expert feels there is a pressing need for national regulation that restricts invasive aesthetic procedures to licensed doctors trained in dermatology, plastic surgery, or related specialties. “Patients must do their due diligence: verify the qualifications of the treating doctor, ask about facility licensure, anesthesia protocols, and postoperative care. Safety must never be compromised,” is his advice.
Right to know your doctor’s qualifications
Any registered medical practitioner is supposed to display their National Medical Council or on their prescription and their registration certificate and at the place where they practice. Dentists are supposed to display their Dental Council registration number and registration certificate. And the next thing is, what if somebody is doing a fake certificate? So if you go to the National Medical Commission website and cross-check with the registration number and if you don’t find the name there, then it’s a quack who is doing the procedure. That means the person is committing a criminal offence. So this should be taken up. Patients have the right to enquire about the qualifications of their ‘doctor,’ whether they hold an MBBS, BDS, or BAMS degree. This clarification could have potentially saved the lives of those two individuals in Kanpur, who died within 48 hours of a hair transplant surgery done by a dentist.
Dr Rajetha Damisetty, MBBS, MD Dermatology, Senior dermatologist and chairperson, Anti-quackery, legal and ethics committee, IADVL (Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists and leprologists).
TGMC aims to crack down on quacks
The Telangana Medical Council (TGMC) registered several cases against fake doctors in Hyderabad and issued notices to cosmetic surgery practitioners, directing them to furnish their educational qualifications. “Dermatology is one of the most affected areas due to quackery because Ayurveda, homoeopathy, and dentist graduates are also practicing it unethically and illegally. We have filed several complaints and visited many clinics in Miyapur, KPHP Colony, Kondapur, and other areas. As per NMC Act 3454 and the Telangana Medical Practitioner Registration Act, only a qualified MBBS doctor is able to do modern medicine practice. Without an MBBS degree qualification, if they did allopathic or modern medicine practice, they should be punished with up to 1 year of imprisonment and a 5 lakh fine. Telangana has already filed more than 450 FIRs. "To eradicate quackery, quack-free Telangana is our aim.”
— Dr G Srinivas, Telangana Medical Council vice-chairman
