{"id":25514,"date":"2026-09-28T17:53:02","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T13:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/?p=25514"},"modified":"2026-09-28T18:09:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T14:09:35","slug":"aesthetic-medicine-in-georgia-an-industry-in-transition-in-search-of-professional-standards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/aesthetic-medicine-in-georgia-an-industry-in-transition-in-search-of-professional-standards\/","title":{"rendered":"Aesthetic Medicine in Georgia: An Industry in Transition, in Search of Professional Standards"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once considered a luxury in Georgia, aesthetic medicine has evolved into an independent, fast-moving, and highly technological field, attracting more people every year.<\/span> But this rapid growth has also brought challenges that require careful and critical attention.<\/span> To better understand this transformation, we spoke with Dr. Baia Kondrateva, an aesthetic physician with fifteen years of practical experience in both the Georgian and international markets.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the past fifteen years, the field has changed dramatically in Georgia.<\/span> Kondrateva remembers a time when high-risk procedures and a lack of professionalism were common features of everyday practice.<\/span> There was little clinical research to rely on, and many practitioners worked without clear evidence-based guidance.<\/span> Today, the picture is very different.<\/span> As international experience has accumulated, physicians have moved away from procedures that were once performed with relative ease despite their risks, including nasal filler correction and filler injections in the glabellar area, both of which are now known to carry serious vascular complications.<\/span> Photos: Ana Boko<\/span><\/p>\n

At the center of Kondrateva’s approach is the belief that aesthetic medicine should be held to the same standards as clinical medicine.<\/span> In her view, a procedure should never be treated simply as a way of fulfilling a patient’s request.<\/span> It must be based on a careful analysis of anatomy, physiology, and potential risk.<\/span> “The benefit must outweigh the risk” is the golden rule she follows in her own practice, and one whose absence she observes with concern across the wider market.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A Field Without Rules<\/span> One of the most pressing problems in Georgia’s aesthetic medicine sector is the absence of rigorous regulation.<\/span> Competencies are frequently ill-defined, leaving the field operating at what can only be described as a salon level rather than a medical one.<\/span> It was precisely to address this gap that the Georgian Aesthetic International Association (GAIA) was established, of which Kondrateva serves as a board member.<\/span> The association’s goal is to unite professionals and develop unified medical protocols.<\/span><\/p>\n

With her active involvement, GAIA is working to define clearly which practitioners are permitted to perform which types of procedures.<\/span> Her efforts are directed at bringing aesthetic medicine out of an unregulated space and into a proper medical framework, one in which patient safety and practitioners’ legal rights are both protected.<\/span><\/p>\n

International Expertise, Brought Home<\/span> Kondrateva also serves as a knowledge conduit between international institutions and Georgia.<\/span> As an international trainer for global brand, the French company Fillmed, she systematically attends world-class conferences, aiming to receive the latest information from global experts at least five times a year and to share that knowledge with Georgian colleagues.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the innovations she follows most closely in skin care and anti-aging medicine, she singles out several that she considers significant advances in the field:<\/span><\/p>\n