Rethabile Pitso
BASOTHO women are undergoing unlicensed cosmetic procedures to enhance their physical appearance, sparking concerns among local health practitioners, who warn that the growing trend could cause major diseases, including cancers.
Butt lifting, breast enlargement and skin lightening are the latest trends slowly setting beauty standards for young Basotho women putting pressure on them to subject their bodies to the potentially dangerous modifications all in the name of beauty.
There are only a handful of genuine medical facilities licensed to offer beauty enhancement procedures in Lesotho.
But out of desperation to improve their appearances, some women are turning to “affordable” facilities, often advertised on social media platforms, claiming to offer lasting beauty solutions.
But these facilities are run by bogus entrepreneurs out to make a quick buck. They neither have proper skills to carry out procedures nor the requisite professional equipment.
Clinical dermatologist and certified aesthetician, Dr Keitumetse Letsela, has issued a warning against these bogus facilities that operate outside the conditions set for lawfully recognised institutions.
She warns that such practices can result in irreversible harm.
“As medical practitioners the most concerning thing we learn upon hearing of such practices is, of course, that they lack knowledge of the anatomy of the human body, a basic topic in any medical undergraduate’s training,” DR Letsela said.
“Without this knowledge, whatever action is done on the body is likely to result in disfiguring. For example, people think that administering a procedure such as lip filler injections is simple, but if done unprofessionally it often results in a facial asymmetry, that is disfigurement.
“Other complications we often see with patients having undergone such counterfeit procedures is the high rate of infections stemming from ineffective measures taken towards sterilising equipment.”
Dr Letsela went further to caution against visiting unlicensed facilities saying patients should check the legitimacy of facilities before making contact.
“The Lesotho Medical Dental and Pharmacy Council website offers a list of medical practitioners registered in the country. That is one way to find out whether a doctor is licenced to operate or not.
“Another way to establish that a facility is recognised and compliant with the law is by visiting its facilities where a display of certification should be placed on its walls,” she added.
According to Dr Letsela, an aesthetician delves deeper into seeking solutions even for issues that may appear to be trivial, making efforts to find the underlying causes of problems.
“Unlike our untrained practitioners, we know best not to offer cosmetic procedures such a as micro-needling to, for instance, an acne-prone face. We always find the root cause because many skin problems have roots inside the body.
“We often discover patients have illnesses such as lupus while preparing them for treatment then ultimately offer lasting solutions.
“But in the untrained sector, such risks go unnoticed,” she said.
Unlicensed Operator
Meanwhile, the Lesotho Times visited one Tlaleng Mohale’s beauty spa and found it doing roaring business.
The 21-year-old operates a new establishment right in the centre of Maseru City, offering an array of services such as butt lifting, breast augmentation, tummy reduction, and leg adjustments.
Despite being unlicensed with the ministry of trade and with little training, the young entrepreneur operates a successful business and even has two employees.
Ms Mohale says she gained inspiration from the late celebrity Moleboheng Mpasi, affectionately known as Mlex, and underwent training under Mpasi’s tutelage.
After six months training, she went into operation at full-throttle and has been in business for a little over a year now.
“My facility offers all natural services and we use wooden tools to flatten bulging stomachs.
“We also offer laser, vacuum, gravitation, radio frequency as well as face frequency services,” she said.
With dreams to expand her business, Ms Mohale said she is planning to secure more equipment such as “fat freezing” machines to assist with procedures requiring fat burning.
“We assess what type of procedure is suitable for a client just by looking at their bodies. We can tell whether to apply vacuum or laser procedures to reduce a flappy stomach by looking at how it hangs on the body.
“Sometimes we feel it with our hands to determine which method to apply,” she said.
Ms Mohale added that although she takes precautions against causing harm to patients, there have been times when they have been caught by surprise midway through the procedures.
“As a precautionary measure, we ask our clients to take pregnancy tests and check for fibroids to ensure they are not pregnant before following up on appointments to guard against causing harm to the patients.
“There was, however, one incident where during a tummy reduction procedure a patient started bleeding uncontrollably. We advised her to seek medical attention from a doctor who diagnosed her with fibroids.
“From then on, we are more careful about accepting clients who have fibroids”, she said.
She revealed, however, that they simply rely on the patient to inform them about their medical background and, without concrete proof, the procedures are administered.
Her spa consists of a single room which is used as both a consultation room and an office, leaving clients without any privacy whatsoever.
As one steps into the “office” one is treated to a full view of ongoing treatments.
The main door, when opened even just a little, gives whoever is outside a glimpse of the procedures inside the facility.
Upon knocking and being allowed inside to consult, we were greeted with a view of two ladies lying on their backs, and they immediately clutched at their breasts in desperate attempt to cover them.
All the while, two “practitioners” were hovering over their bodies with what looked like rolling pins which they moved around the patients’ stomach area.
Whether they had consented to a third party entering the premises while undergoing the procedures was unclear. What baffled us though was that during such an intimate moment, we were allowed in, not to watch but for consultation.
Even more baffling was the extend to which women are prepared to lower their guard and readily accept compromised situations just to attain the desired looks.
The young entrepreneur, oblivious to the implications, was happy to reveal that there was an ongoing promotion which is attracting clients in large numbers.
“Our normal prices for flattening the tummy cost around M1000 but for these two promotional days, our clients are only paying M100,” she said.
Condemnation
The Lesotho Medical Dental and Pharmacy Council (LMDPC) has condemned procedures conducted by people who masquerade as doctors saying their malpractices lead to unnecessary injuries and fatalities.
Speaking on behalf of LMDPC, Dr Mojakisane Ramafikeng, said rigorous training undertaken by doctors during their studies is unfairly taken for granted.
“It’s by design that undergraduate medical students undertake six or seven years training to become doctors. We are thoroughly trained to avoid making mistakes in the process, because we deal with something as precious as life which, once lost, can never be replaced”, he said.
He said many chancers on social media offering assistance with seemingly trivial procedures also run high risks of causing fatalities.
“Some of the advertisements that shock me mostly when I come across them on Facebook are of those offering to remove these types of keloids growing commonly around the ear.
“As doctors, perhaps we are to blame for often failing to fully disclose to the client reasons for not performing a certain surgery which may lead to patients seeking remedies elsewhere, eventually falling victim to these Facebook scams.
“Treating a keloid is not as simple as it seems because special medication is required to suppress it from growing back. Remember a keloid forms when a scar fails to heal as expected, which causes a bunch of tissues to overlap.
“It therefore takes a while to assess the remedy and administer the appropriate treatment but explaining to a patient as to why a surgery cannot take place may prove futile. Acting out of desperation to restore their physical appearance, dangerous measures are often taken”, he said.
He said the negative repercussions of cosmetic procedures performed by untrained personnel often surfaces within 5 years following the procedures.
“We have experienced many cases of women who get admitted to health facilities with complications which are later traced to shady procedures in the past.
“The procedures are exposing people to diseases such as cancer and, like I said, we will only learn in about five years time when the cancer surfaces”, he said.
He said LMDPC was currently embarking on rigorous exercises to uproot malpractices within the industry with focus on unlicensed clinics and pharmacies which are operated even by professionals but without the required permits.
He said the next step was uprooting the illegal practitioners.
“LMDPC is committed to cleaning the medical industry. We are going around the country to identify malpractices from our own professionals. Next, we are targeting those very people masquerading as professionals because they are operating outside the law.
“Soon we are going to confront them, with the help of the police”, he said.
