From Straits Times front page on 20th March 2008:
The MOH has expressed concern over doctors providing what it calls "unsubstantiated practices" including mesotherapy which I believe your clinic offers.
Its concern is not that such treatments are given, but that it fears patients may think they are proper medical treatments as they are done by doctors.
Could I have your comments on this please?
Do you, perhaps, tell your patients that these are not scientifically proven methods?
Or do you disagree with the MOH's stand that there is no backing for these treatments?
Yours Sincerely,
Salma Khalik
Health Correspondent
The Straits Times
Tel: 6319 5349
We no longer offer mesotherapy after the MoH ban.
Cheers!
Dr Christine Cheng
Simply Aesthetic
Tel: 6732 5527
Fax: 6732 5517
www.simply-aesthetic.com
Hi Dr Cheng,
Thanks for reply.
Several doctors I spoke to yesterday have received that letter, but others have not - am querying MOH on that.
Does the ban involve only mesotherapy or the other 10 listed in the Straits Times today too?
Has stopping mesotherapy affected your business much - are patients unhappy? If so, any patients I could talk to?
More importantly, do you agree with the ban, since it can still be offered by beauty saloons?
Cheers,
Salma Khalik
Hi Salma
We have been advising our patients to undergo liposuction for the last few months, so the ban on mesotherapy has little impact on our business. I am in London at the moment, so do not know which treatments are no longer permissible in clinics. I have yet to speak to my patients regarding their feelings regarding this ban.
I do not know what goes on in beauty salons.
Cheers!
Dr Christine Cheng
sorry to get back to you again, with you in London.
But have just found out that MOH only sent letters to 20 doctors asking them to stop treatments like mesotherapy and carboxytherapy. Many others offering these services have not been told to stop.
Do you think this is fair?
Or is there some reason why these 20 doctors, including you, have been asked to stop?
Cheers,
Salma Khalik
I have no idea why our Ministry works in this way. With the Hong Kong Medical Council, all registered doctors were notified regarding stopping the use of Phosphatidylcholine via e-mail. So it was fair to all. They did not ban the entire spectrum of mesotherapy, just the main drug used for fat melting. For your information, the injection of steroids into inflamed tendons is considered mesotherapy too. As is the injection of steroids to reduce the thickness of keloid scars.
The ministry began cracking down on such practices from September last year, telling about 20 of the bigger operators to stop.
Prominent plastic surgeon Woffles Wu and anaesthetist Christine Cheng were among those targeted. They complied immediately.
Dr Cheng was unhappy to have been singled out, and asked why the ministry did not inform all doctors.
The ministry explained that it did not realise earlier how widespread aesthetic medicine had become.
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I have been receiving phone calls non-stop since 2 am London time. Amazing how I ended up in the newspaper when I did not make those comments!
The e-mail interviews follow. I made no comments on the situation at all, given that I was out of town with no access to the newspapers!
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Dear Dr Cheng,The MOH has expressed concern over doctors providing what it calls "unsubstantiated practices" including mesotherapy which I believe your clinic offers.
Its concern is not that such treatments are given, but that it fears patients may think they are proper medical treatments as they are done by doctors.
Could I have your comments on this please?
Do you, perhaps, tell your patients that these are not scientifically proven methods?
Or do you disagree with the MOH's stand that there is no backing for these treatments?
Yours Sincerely,
Salma Khalik
Health Correspondent
The Straits Times
Tel: 6319 5349
*****************************************************************
Hi SalmaWe no longer offer mesotherapy after the MoH ban.
Cheers!
Dr Christine Cheng
Simply Aesthetic
Tel: 6732 5527
Fax: 6732 5517
www.simply-aesthetic.com
*****************************************************************
Hi Dr Cheng,
Thanks for reply.
Several doctors I spoke to yesterday have received that letter, but others have not - am querying MOH on that.
Does the ban involve only mesotherapy or the other 10 listed in the Straits Times today too?
Has stopping mesotherapy affected your business much - are patients unhappy? If so, any patients I could talk to?
More importantly, do you agree with the ban, since it can still be offered by beauty saloons?
Cheers,
Salma Khalik
*****************************************************************
Hi Salma
We have been advising our patients to undergo liposuction for the last few months, so the ban on mesotherapy has little impact on our business. I am in London at the moment, so do not know which treatments are no longer permissible in clinics. I have yet to speak to my patients regarding their feelings regarding this ban.
I do not know what goes on in beauty salons.
Cheers!
Dr Christine Cheng
*****************************************************************
Hi Christine,sorry to get back to you again, with you in London.
But have just found out that MOH only sent letters to 20 doctors asking them to stop treatments like mesotherapy and carboxytherapy. Many others offering these services have not been told to stop.
Do you think this is fair?
Or is there some reason why these 20 doctors, including you, have been asked to stop?
Cheers,
Salma Khalik
*****************************************************************
Hi SalmaI have no idea why our Ministry works in this way. With the Hong Kong Medical Council, all registered doctors were notified regarding stopping the use of Phosphatidylcholine via e-mail. So it was fair to all. They did not ban the entire spectrum of mesotherapy, just the main drug used for fat melting. For your information, the injection of steroids into inflamed tendons is considered mesotherapy too. As is the injection of steroids to reduce the thickness of keloid scars.
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