More women suffer botched filler injections

Increasing numbers of women are suffering disfigurement as result of botched cosmetic filler injections.

Surgeons have reported a sharp rise in the number of cases of complications arising from the skin procedures, marketed as way to achieve younger-looking skin without going under the knife.

The injections are used to plump up the skin, to fill in wrinkles and crows' feet and to create fuller cheeks and lips.

In recent years, their popularity has soared as their costs have dropped, but experts fear the lack of regulation of their safety means the beauty industry is facing a "ticking timebomb" as the risks from the procedures emerge.  

Research carried out for the Daily Mail has found that more than two thirds of British plastic surgeons have been consulted by patients whose injections had gone wrong.

Three years ago, just one quarter of surgeons polled by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (Baaps) had seen such cases.

This year, half of doctors who had seen botched filler injections had seen the most serious complications, which arise when permanent fillers are at risk of rupturing in the body, and usually require corrective surgery.

Plastic surgeons - who rarely administer the injections, but often end up dealing with their complications - fear that the safety risks could result in similar consequences to the scandal surrounding PIP implants.

The fillers are unregulated and can be administered by anyone who has completed a half-day course.

Temporary fillers, the most commonly used, are usually made of an acid, which is found naturally in the human body, while permanent fillers are riskier because they are made of a synthetic material, similar to breast implants, which can be removed only by surgery.

Side effects range from infections, swelling and bruising, to inflammation of the deeper skin tissue causing lumps and permanent scarring. In rare cases vision has been impaired by injecting near the eye.

Many of the plastic surgeons, who rarely administer fillers but see patients who experience problems, said they felt people were unaware of the risks involved.

Concerns have also been raised about untrained hairdressers and beauticians injecting fillers.

MP Nadine Dorrie has just admitted that she has used the injections, which plump the skin, as well as Botox, which freezes the muscles, slowing the progression of wrinkles.

In an interview after she left the jungle in the ITV show I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, she said: "I've never been aggressive with it, but I do use Botox and things. I don't see any harm, millions of women do it."

"Holding back the years is OK once you get to a certain age."

Under EU legislation, fillers are not medicines but medical devices which require a only CE kitemark to be sold, meaning they meet the requirements of EU legislation and do not have to undergo scientific tests.

The Government has launched an inquiry into the marketing of cosmetic procedures following the PIP scandal, led by NHS Medical Director Sir Bruce Keogh, which will include skin fillers.

Baaps is calling for tougher European standards for fillers so they are classified as medicines, which is the case in the US.

Rajiv Grover, president of the association, which carried out the poll of 200 surgeons to which 60 responded, said: "The growing popularity of these non-surgical treatments has clearly led to complacency regarding how they are performed and by whom."

Mr Grover said it would be surprising if anyone could still argue that the fillers should not be reclassified as medicines, and subject to more stringent regulation.

James Frame, a consultant and professor of aesthetic plastic surgery at Anglia Ruskin University, called for more rigorous training for practitioners and a crackdown on irresponsible advertising.

He said: "The popularity of fillers has gone through the roof. If it goes wrong, you can get atrociously bad reactions. The site can become infected, or it can affect the deeper tissue.

"There was one case where it eroded a woman's upper lip."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9700361/More-women-suffer-botched-filler-injections.html