KEY POINTS:
The beauty therapy industry is calling for tighter controls after a woman who was treated for acne scars ended up with worse damage on her face.
Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Rae Lamb yesterday made public her brief report on the case, in which she said the therapist breached the code of patients' rights on standard of care and informed consent.
The woman had asked the clinic about laser treatments for acne scars and a skin pigmentation disorder which had left dark patches on her cheeks.
She was treated with an ELOS machine (electrical light optical synergy). The next morning she found blisters and swelling where she had been treated.
She sought help from another beauty therapist and a doctor. The clinic apologised, refunded her fee and offered free treatments. She needed further assessment and treatment from a skin specialist.
The therapist had been trained in the use of the machine. She assessed the woman's skin type as highest risk for treatment with ELOS or the related intense pulsed light (IPL) machine.
The woman signed her consent to the therapy, but was "clearly unaware of the risks", Ms Lamb said.
The consultation form listed medications that could cause problems with ELOS. The woman's acne was concurrently being treated with an antibiotic, but it did not appear the use of this medication was "satisfactorily explored".
Ms Lamb said the Association of Beauty Therapists had no guidelines on therapists' use of ELOS and IPL machines and the industry relied on the machines' distributors for training. The association's policy on IPL focused more on workplace safety than managing risks to clients.
"It appears that there is a need for adequate guidelines/standards regarding the use of ELOS and IPL equipment across the whole sector."
Association president Judy West said yesterday: "We have been really concerned. We are certainly looking into trying to make this more safe for the public." The established distributors provided good training, but many machines were obtained through the internet "and that's creating massive problems".
Russell Smith, owner of InTouch Medical, the distributor of a British IPL machine, said British and US machines cost $50,000 to $100,000. Chinese-made machines could be imported for $7000, but some were so poorly designed that patients could inadvertently be burned.
THE MACHINE
* Electrical light optical synergy (ELOS).
* Uses an adjustable combination of pulsed light and radio frequencies.
* A development of intense pulsed light (IPL), which uses only light.
* It is estimated there are up to 300 machines in use in New Zealand, mainly by beauty therapists.
* They are different from laser therapy.
* IPL can be used to remove hair, freckles and spider veins. ELOS can also treat acne.
* Beauty therapists, unlike nurses and doctors, are not regulated by statute.
