TORONTO -- The Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons passed new regulations Thursday cracking down on family doctors who perform cosmetic surgery procedures without approved certification.
Under the new rules, doctors are barred from calling themselves surgeons unless they are certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the OCPS. A second regulation makes advertising medical specializations without proper accreditation an act of professional misconduct.
The new rules come seven months after 32-year-old real estate agent Krista Stryland died following a liposuction procedure performed by a family physician who advertised as a cosmetic surgeon.
Plastic surgeons in Ontario, who require at least five years of residency before becoming certified, have long complained about doctors calling themselves cosmetic surgeons -- a grey term that they argue has only served to confuse patients.
The new regulations bring Ontario closer to other jurisdictions in the country where cosmetic procedures face more stringent oversight and regulation.
Doctors in Alberta, B.C. and Quebec are prohibited from performing invasive procedures or advertising they are cosmetic surgeons unless they hold a specialty in plastic surgery.
The provincial medical bodies also regulate facilities outside of hospitals where cosmetic procedures are performed.
Dr. Bill Pope, registrar at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba, said the college regulates non-hospital surgical facilities where invasive procedures are performed and each one has a medical director accountable to the college for the quality of care delivered.
-- Canwest News Service
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