Who is legally allowed to perform mesotherapy? Can anyone other than an MD or DO perform mesotherapy by themselves?

Anything that breaks open, cuts, injects into the skin must be a physician. Check with each state. Mesotherapy - "artichoke extract, vitamin c, fat dissolving goodies" from any local or international compounding pharmacy who sells it for a good price? Is this science?

Actually mesotherapy can be done by naturopathic practitioners as well. Nurse practitioners can do it too.

The science is yet to be proven. The French doctors have done them for 50 years and it has been working for them.

Overall, anyone who can legally give an injection can perform it (at least in my state). If it's not the MD/DO or NP doing it then the medical staff performing it can only do so with doctor's orders.

I am an rn opening up a medical cosmetic center in idaho doing fillers, botox and som elight chemical peels. I have had advanced training by many md's and have been working under a plastic surgeon for many years but now have the opportunity to open my own plcae in partnership with a vascular surgeon. He will be the medical director but will not always be on premiss. Any suggestions for me? At this point, the Idaho board of nursing allows this.

I am an RN that is very interested in receiving training in medical aesthetics. I have information on the workshops offered out of FL. wondering what else is out there, I like to know all my options. Then once certified what is the best approach seeking a physician to work under or sponsor or as a consultant to several physicians? I don't know where to begin and what is worth the money what is a waste of money.

Can someone please tell me where to go to find out who can administer injectables in the state of Texas and what all is needed to bring injectables into a spa/salon?

Sarahrn,

Please visit wwww.medicalandspaconsulting.com and click on Update on Physician licensing and Medical Director liability.

The information found is the latest on the "medical spa" issues.

Kellyrn,

I am an esthetician member of the SPSSCS.org. It's the best organization for estheticians and nurses working in plastic surgery field. I attended the meeting in NY a few months ago and was really informative. We were able to attend the ASAPS meeting at the Marriott and the Plastic Surgery Society Meetings as well.

This is the best aesthetic society, at least in my opinion. There is also NCEA. you can google it.

A PA can also order/perform mesotherapy, at least in Florida, under indirect physician supervision (physician at least available by telecommunication). I don't know the NP laws, but I'm sure they're quite comparable. A PA, under current practice law, can also delegate or give orders to an RN to perform mesotherapy. We can do anything our supervising physician can do as long as it is within the scope of practice of our supervising physician.

Tony...while it is true that a PA can inject an FDA-approved drug as part of a physician-supervised protocol, the status of lipodissolve and mesotherapy in general is still pretty murky. Lipodissolve, for example, is not an FDA-approved drug, and from a legal point of view, should probably only be used within the confines of an approved study situation.

(I know that the lipodissolve fans may try to argue the point, claiming that mesotherapy compunds are not a drug, but if they are a metabolically-active compound - as in dissolving fat - then by definition, they are indeed a drug and subject to FDA regulation....)

Your response is tangential to the question of who can legally do what. I was not commenting on who should do what and in what circumstance. As far as your FDA concern, there is no FDA approval requirement relative to phosphatidylcholine for two reasons. One, it is a “supplement” and as such has been used for years for liver health, cholesterol and other possible benefits. Supplements do not require FDA approval and can be administered by injection,(as are vitamins and minerals as in Meyer’s cocktail, intravenous nutrition or hyper-alimentation consisting of amino acids, vitamins, minerals, lipids, and others. Second, in Lipodissolve, the ingredients are mixed by a compounding pharmacist upon a physician’s order for specific patients, which does not require FDA approval [FDA Modernization Act Section 503a Compounding Pharmacy].