‘A crisis waiting to happen’: Surgeons respond to dangerous backstreet cosmetic surgeries in the UK
One woman told us how a liposuction procedure went horribly wrong and led to her being hospitalised several times, as ITV News' Cree-Summer Hughton reports
The UK's unregulated cosmetic surgery is "a crisis waiting to happen" and must be regulated before there's another death, the British Association of Plastic Surgeons (BAPS) has told ITV News.
The warning follows an investigation into the scandal by ITV News, Britain’s Backstreet Surgery Scandal, which aired last month, exposing backstreet cosmetic surgeries happening in high street salons across the country.
A spokesperson for BAPS joined calls for the law to be changed urgently to make cosmetic surgery in the UK more safe.
"We’ve spoken for years about the dangers of not regulating the industry and having everyone and anyone having access to these products," a spokesperson said.
"Everyone and anyone doing so-called training courses and ultimately putting people at risk.”
ITV News has had an influx of victims come forward to share their horror stories and call for change since the documentary aired.
One of those women was Jo, who was hospitalised multiple times after a liposuction she had at a salon.
She told ITV News that the medical doctor she saw told her she had never seen bruising so bad for such a light procedure and was unable to examine her because she was in so much pain.
“I absolutely cannot look at myself at all," she said. "I have no mirrors in my bedroom now because of the damage that [the cosmetic surgeon] has done."
”It's just absolutely awful," she added.
Wes Streeting spoke to ITV News publicly about the issue for the first time and committed to taking action against those carrying out these procedures
There is currently very little to no regulation for these procedures in the UK.
In response to ITV's documentary, Health Secretary Wes Streeting committed to taking action against "wild west operators" carrying out procedures.
The previous government started looking into introducing a robust licensing scheme - which would categorise surgical treatments into red amber and green - with red treatments being the most dangerous. The red category would only allow medical professionals to perform the procedure.
The lack of regulation leaves victims unable to seek criminal prosecutions for the practitioners who have destroyed their lives - a story all too common with the people who have come forward.
Louise Moller had a so-called liquid BBL - where a clinician inserted hundreds of milliliters of filler into her buttocks - last year, at a salon in Essex. Since then we’ve reported on the clinic that she says left her close to death.
Four days after her filler injections, Louise collapsed in an ambulance taking her to hospital, where a surgeon revealed what had happened during her liquid BBL appointment.
While in hospital, Louise had an operation to drain the abscess and remove the tissue from her butt cheek.
Two months on from Louise's non-surgical procedure, she still had an open wound that needed to be dressed by nurses twice a week.
But her mother Janet is determined to hold the people who ruined her daughter's life responsible, and has spent time investigating what exactly happened to Louise.
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"I felt that they didn't understand the procedure," said Janet. "They didn't understand why I felt it was illegal and why an assault had taken place."
She says she was told by Bolton police station that what had happened to Louise wasn't a criminal offence, because a consent form was signed. She says they asked her to leave the police station on five occasions.
This is just a snapshot of women who came forward to tell their stories, all are stuck in the same place, finding it impossible to seek justice and calling for the law to be changed.
A register of accredited medical professionals who provide non-surgical cosmetic procedures is available at Save Face.
If you've experienced complications after a cosmetic surgery procedure, please get in touch at investigations@itv.com
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