Before and after: Plastic surgeon hit with $17,500 fine over misleading ads

A Montreal plastic surgeon was hit with a $17,500 fine for running “before and after” ads that didn't represent actual results and which said a certain procedure could turn back the clock by as much as 13 years. Dr. Nabil Edward Fanous ran the advertisement three times in 2016 in the daily Quebec newspaper La Presse and posted it between 2013 and 2014 on the Canadian institute of Cosmetic Surgery’s website. According to the ad, a facelift technique created by Dr. Fanous, which involves minimal surgery and scarring and is performed without general anesthesia, could make patients look 10 to 13 years younger. The disciplinary council of the Collège des médecins du Québec took issue with this wording, stating in its decision document that the results of the procedure cannot be quantified this way. Read: Toronto doctor was out of line with out-of-hospital cosmetic procedures The council also concluded that the photos were misleading because the time between the procedure and post-operative image was too short to show actual results. In addition, the ad failed to mention the effect of other procedures performed on patients, such as forehead lift, Restylane and Botox injections, as well as liposuction under the chin. The public can be misled further by the way the subject of the photo smiles, make-up, hairstyle and camera angle in the “after” photo, the disciplinary council added. Dr. Fanous pleaded that the offences committed "are not tainted by bad faith, dishonesty or a desire to deceive.” His patients were not misled and gave informed consent, he told the board. He added that the two requirements of the college's guide to practice were met. The first requirement is to write at the bottom of the photo that it is published for information purposes and does not constitute a guarantee of results. The second requirement is to write the provenance or documentary source of the photo. In 2019, an update to the practice guide emphasized the need for physicians to avoid misleading, false hopes and unrealistic expectations. According to the college's requirements, the information communicated must be factual, accurate and verifiable. Read: Psychiatrist suspended for writing baseless doctor's notes to get hospital employees off work

Before and after: Plastic surgeon hit with $17,500 fine over misleading ads

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