Queensland doctor banned over botched facelift procedure

19 Jun 2025

Tribunal decision sends strong message about adhering to codes of conduct and guidelines

A Queensland doctor has been deregistered over a botched cosmetic surgery procedure that left a patient with uncontrolled bleeding from a damaged artery.

Dr Shahram Sadeghi (Registration No: MED0000960591), who owned and operated the Elinay Cosmetic Surgery clinic in the Brisbane suburb of Grange, performed a facelift procedure on the patient, known as ‘RF,’ on 1 May 2019.

The patient – who had consulted Sadeghi in relation to his acne scarring - left the clinic in an ambulance with a damaged artery that required hospital treatment and prompted an investigation by the Medical Board of Australia.

In a decision handed down by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, Sadeghi admitted he performed surgical procedures in an unlicensed facility, had inadequate training and experience to perform facelift procedures, failed to exercise appropriate skill, care and judgement in respect to patient ‘RF,’ performed the procedure in breach of legal and professional requirement and engaged in false and misleading advertising.

The Tribunal heard that prior to conducting the procedure on ‘RF,’ Sadeghi had never previously conducted such an operation, and had only ever assisted a surgeon some seven years earlier.

Sadeghi did not inform patient ‘RF’ of his lack of training or experience, and the clinic website gave misleading information about his credentials.

Patient ‘RF’ told the Tribunal: ‘Dr Sadeghi told me briefly that he had completed further training in order to become a cosmetic surgeon, but he didn’t provide me with any specifics about this.’ 

The Tribunal found Sadeghi had falsely claimed to have completed further training to become a cosmetic surgeon.

Patient ‘RF’ said he recalled little of the procedure as he was ‘drifting in and out of consciousness,’ but did overhear a nurse saying he was losing too much blood. After Sadeghi called 000, patient ‘RF’ was rushed to hospital where he underwent surgery to repair damage to the occipital artery.

He spent two days in hospital and said it took him approximately three weeks to fully recover.

The Tribunal found Sadeghi’s conduct to be ‘extremely serious and a very significant departure from proper standards.’

The Tribunal decision stated: ‘The conduct strikes at the very heart of medical training and the trust that the public at large reposes in the profession.

‘Cancellation of Dr Sadeghi’s registration is the proper sanction in addition to a reprimand as it sends the clearest possible deterrent signal to other medical practitioners about the dangers and inappropriateness of acting beyond their training and experience.’ 

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency CEO Justin Untersteiner said the Tribunal decision sent a strong message to practitioners. 

‘The doctor-patient relationship is based on trust,’ he said. 

‘It is vitally important that practitioners undertaking cosmetic procedures perform these within their field of expertise and experience and that they honestly and ethically provide information to their patients around the procedure and its risks.

‘Patient welfare must come first.’ 

Medical Board of Australia Chair, Dr Susan O’Dwyer, said the Tribunal decision reminded doctors to practise within their skillset and tell their patients the truth.

‘Doctors are the best judge of what they are trained to. We need to be honest with our patients about our limits and refer patients to specialists when they need care we are not trained to provide safely,’ she said.

Report unsafe practice 

Ahpra and the National Boards are committed to making cosmetic procedures safer. 

We encourage patients and practitioners to report unsafe practice. Call the Cosmetic Surgery Hotline on 1300 361 041 to report bad practice and help protect others. 

More information

Visit our Cosmetic Surgery Hub for information to support safer practice, including the cosmetic surgery standard and guidelines, and the guidelines for non-surgical cosmetic procedures. 

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