Warning
P-OUT OF CONTROL
Botched cosmetic filler ops DOUBLE in just a year – as docs warn it’s ‘tip of the iceberg’
BOTCHED lip filler treatments have doubled in a year - with victims as young as 14, campaigners have warned.
More than 1,300 people complained of nasty complications in 2018-19 after having aesthetic fillers.
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That's up from 616 complaints in 2017-18, , a national register for approved practitioners, reports.
The new stats come a week after The Sun's Fabulous brand launched the Had Our Fill campaign to crackdown on rogue injectors and raise awareness of the dangers women face.
We've uncovered horrific case reports of women - and men - left with rotting, necrotic tissue, dangerous infections, severely swollen lips, blood clots as well as women who've lost their eyesight after having fillers.
Save Face's latest figures show 83 per cent of cosmetic treatments are performed by beauticians, hairdressers and lay people - with no medical qualifications at all.
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Of the 1,617 complaints to Save Face a staggering 1,309 or 81 per cent related to dermal fillers.
They are injections - typically using hyaluronic acid - into the lips, cheeks and around the eyes to fill fine lines and wrinkles.
In comparison, Save Face received just 210 complaints regarding Botox injections.
While Botox is classified as a medicine - and therefore subject to regulation in England, dermal fillers are not.
HAD OUR FILL CAMPAIGN
BRITAIN'S Botox and filler addiction is fuelling a £2.75billion industry.
The wrinkle-busting and skin plumping treatments account for 9 out of 10 cosmetic procedures.
50% of women and 40% of men aged 18 to 34 want to plump up their pouts and tweak their faces.
Fillers are totally unregulated and incredibly you don’t need to have ANY qualifications to buy and inject them.
83% of fillers are performed by people with no medical training, often in unsanitary environments - with devastating results.
Women have been left with rotting tissue, needing lip amputations, lumps and even blinded by botched jobs.
Despite the dangers, there is no legal age limit for dermal filler, which is why Fabulous has launched Had Our Fill, a campaign calling for:
- fillers to be made illegal for under 18s
- a crackdown on social media sites plugging fillers
- a Government-backed central register for practitioners with accredited qualifications
We're working in conjunction with and are backed by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), British Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) and British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS).
We want anyone considering a non-surgical cosmetic treatment to be well-informed to make a safe decision.
We’ve Had Our Fill of rogue traders and sham clinics - have you?
Save Face director Ashton Collins warned the lack of regulation means women choosing to have dermal fillers are playing a dangerous lottery.
Supporting the Fabulous campaign, she told The Sun: "In a landscape where it is perfectly legal for anyone to pick up a syringe and inject anyone with anything in any setting, navigating your way to a safe pair of hands can be much like playing the lottery.
"It is hugely important that people who are considering dermal fillers are aware of the issues that may befall them.
She added: "The demand for dermal fillers has soared in recent years and sadly as have the number of complaints.
"Our figures have more than doubled year on year and it is very concerning to see such a huge rise in more serious complication such as blindness and vascular occlusions.
The demand for dermal fillers has soared in recent years and sadly as have the number of complaints
Ashton Collins
"Eighty-six per cent of all complaints reported to us were regarding treatments that were carried out by laypeople, beauticians and hairdressers who were unable to identify the signs of complications and manage them effectively, forcing patients to seek help elsewhere.
"These treatments are medical procedures that can lead to serious complications, the chances of which are increased significantly when they are injected by untrained and unsafe practitioners.
"Dermal fillers, which are now being used to augment lips and cheeks, straighten noses, enhance jawlines and chins and improve the appearance of eye bags can all end up at crisis point should something go wrong.
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"We see too many patients who have placed not only their trust but their health and appearance in the wrong hands.
"Unfortunately, when you chose a practitioner who is unaccountable and unverified you have no way of knowing they are appropriately trained, insured and are competent to identify and manage complications."
Sharing the stats with BBC Inside Out West, Ashton added: "A lay person on the street could decide today they want to start offering these treatments.
"They could watch a YouTube video this evening, order some products and set themselves up as a treatment provider."
Ashton, who has worked for six years to put pressure on successive Governments to introduce regulation, urged women considering dermal fillers to look for an approved practitioner on the Save Face register.
She explained the Save Face team inspect each clinic listed on their register, which is Government approved. They ensure each practitioner meets a stringent set of standards.
The shocking figures have prompted medical professionals to join the call to improve safety of this unregulated sector.
FILLERS BY NUMBERS
£2.75bn - estimated value of UK’s non-surgical cosmetic industry
59% - 13 to 24-year olds see lip fillers as routine as getting a haircut or manicure
68% - young people say friends have had fillers
160 - different types of dermal filler available for use in Europe, compared to only 10 in the US where they have tighter regulations
1,617 - complaints received by Save Face last year regarding unregistered practitioners
1.2m posts for #lipfillers on Instagram
3.9m - Google searches for ‘lip fillers’ in UK last year
40% - 13 to 19-year-olds say images on social media cause them to worry about body image
MORE ON HAD OUR FILL
Dan Marsh, a spokesman for BAAPS, who has backed The Sun's campaign, warned: "People are taking advantage of the easy availability of dermal filler injections and are treating vulnerable young women, with little regard to their safety.
"I fear the stories of swollen lips and more serious complaints we hear of are just the tip of the iceberg, with many women left scarred for life.
"For too long the issue has been ignored with women left feeling shame and embarrassment when procedures go wrong."
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