Professional Standards for Cosmetic Surgery

The College has developed guidance on professional standards for all surgeons who perform cosmetic surgery. Read or download Professional Standards for Cosmetic Surgery

The guidance addresses key areas of risk for cosmetic surgery including communication with patients, consent, professional behaviours, and dealing with the psychologically vulnerable patient. The standards aim to ensure that the needs of individual patients are at the centre of the consultation discussion, and that the operating surgeon and the patient are working in close partnership to ensure that the patient has enough time to make the right decision and is well informed about the potential risks and likely outcome of the procedure before they give their consent.

The principles of the guidance underpin the new cosmetic surgery certification scheme. They are part of the College’s response to the recommendations of the 2013 review by the Department of Health into the regulation of cosmetic interventions which noted that patients need better protection against the risks from cosmetic procedures.

This document supplements the broad principles set out in the 'GMC Guidance for Doctors who Offer Cosmetic Interventions' (GMC, 2016) for the needs of invasive cosmetic surgery, and should be read in conjunction with the GMC document.