Harley Street plastic surgeon suspended for liposuction rule breaches

A plastic surgeon who performed liposuction without registration and lied to health watchdog inspectors has been suspended for 12 months.

Dr Sayed Mia, who worked at a private clinic in Harley Street, also carried out gynecomastia – male breast reduction – procedures without the necessary registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), a court heard.

During a CQC inspection, Mia tried to run away before pretending he was a patient and giving a false name, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service was told.

She did not go so far as to remove him from the medical register, considering that his suspension – at the “upper” end of the classification – was the “most proportionate sanction”.

The court heard that on November 14, 2023, Mia, who qualified in South Africa in 1999, was in consultation with a patient at the central London clinic when four CQC inspectors arrived and introduced themselves.

Shortly after, Mia was observed heading towards the elevators with a suitcase.

The court heard an inspector “intercepted” Mia, telling her the reason for her visit was “to establish whether any regulated activities were taking place at the clinic”, after receiving complaints from members of the public.

When asked his name, Mia told the inspector that it was “Ahmed Munda”.

Mia reportedly pressed the elevator buttons “numerous times” and “seemed nervous and eager to leave.”

He told the inspector he had a meeting about a procedure and claimed he was a patient.

The court was told that a man waiting outside the consultation room interrupted him and said: “That’s not a patient, that’s a doctor I came to see.”

The inspector then asked Mia again if he was a doctor. He responded that he was “a doctor, but a scientist, not a doctor” and claimed that he had only worked at the clinic that day.

The court heard Mia later apologized for giving a false name, saying he believed the investigators were from his ex-employer and had come to intimidate him.

He also admitted to the General Medical Council that he had carried out the surgeries and that the information he had provided to inspectors was false.

The tribunal said his refusal to tell the truth “was not motivated by fear or intimidation from a previous employer, but to ensure he was not implicated in a CQC investigation”.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service tribunal found that Mia “failed to act with honesty and integrity and demonstrated a deliberate disregard for professional standards”.