Cheap overseas surgery leading to raft of serious complications, database shows

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By Emma Wilkinson

A detailed study of patients who had cosmetic surgery abroad and then needed further treatment on the NHS for complications has painted a stark picture of severe infections, wounds splitting open and necrosis.

The analysis of almost 200 patients who needed follow-up treatment after returning to the UK found nearly half needed an operation under general anaesthetic to correct complications.

One patient tragically died after a pulmonary embolism, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) reported.

The findings raise serious concerns about poor regulation and inconsistent perioperative standards leading to preventable harm, warned BAAPS.

Treatment for the 198 patients identified in the BAAPS database between 2022 and 2024 as needing further care after overseas cosmetic surgery, would have cost the NHS up to £1.8 million, the association calculated.

In some cases, surgeons questioned whether similar complications occurring in the UK would have triggered formal investigations.

More than nine in 10 patients were women with an average age of 39, and 76% of complications happened after surgery in Turkey.