Ethical Issues in Aesthetic Research

Abstract

If I were to ask the typical board-certified plastic surgeon, “What is the essential aspect of ethical research in aesthetic surgery?” I would expect the most common answer to be “informed consent,” and most other physicans would probably agree. To an extent, that answer is correct, reflecting today’s common view of bioethics. However, there is much more to ethical research than informed consent. A noted authority on the subject, E. J. Emanuel, stated, ”While informed consent is necessary in most but not all cases, in no case is it sufficient for ethical clinical research.”1 There are other issues that must be taken into account in any clinical research, aesthetic or otherwise. There are numerous, well-known historical documents regarding conduct in clinical research, such as the Nuremberg Code, the Belmont Report, and the Declaration of Helsinki. Although none of these traditional ethical guidelines includes the seven requirements mentioned below, the fundamental protections are reflected in the basic philosophies of all of them. The following seven requirements should provide the plastic surgeon, both in academic or private practice, with a framework to guide the practice of ethical clinical research … David L. Larson, MD, Department of Plastic Surgery, 8700 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226-3575. E-mail: dlarson{at}mcw.edu