Anti-Ageing Injections: An 'Issue of Huge Concern'
The risks of cosmetic surgery have dominated the headlines recently, with fears over the faulty PIP breast implants being a particular cause for concern both in the UK and on the continent. However, experts are warning of a new disaster within the cosmetic surgery industry: that of anti-ageing injections.
Anti-ageing injections, or 'dermal fillers', are advertised as a solution to those who wish to smooth wrinkles and fill out the cheeks and lips. But the practice of selling and using anti-ageing injections is almost entirely unregulated. Anyone can buy, sell or use them, and no medical training is needed to inject them.
This has a number of serious consequences. Firstly, patients will be in danger of receiving poor quality products. This was highlighted by Sally Taber, director of Independent Healthcare Advisory Services, who said: “unless we get this sorted out dermal fillers will be the next disaster.
“The next thing will be a patient will have a dangerous dermal filler that's come in from China and it will be 'How on earth did we let this happen?' We need to work together to cut out some of the appalling practice.”
Secondly, because dermal fillers can be bought and sold in the UK without restriction, the procedure is often carried out by beauty therapists who have had just a few hours training. Some companies even sell the injections online so patients can inject themselves. This can lead to complications that require corrective surgery to be performed.
In some cases, the health problems caused by anti-ageing injections will continue in the long-term, as the president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), Fazel Fatah, emphasised: anti-ageing injections are “exceptionally widespread”, he said.
It has become “a multi-million pound industry…that is totally unregulated, done by everyone from beauty therapists to specialist surgeons. Some of the fillers are permanent and therefore if the patient develops a problem it will be lifelong. There are hundreds of women having problems.”
Doctor and Conservative MP, Daniel Poulter, said: “With fillers it's being treated as a commercial enterprise not a therapeutic one, and there isn't the same regulation and testing. That's an issue of huge concern. A lot are performed on the high street by people with no knowledge of anatomy at all. These are things that can change the way people look.”
Have You Been Affected by Cosmetic Surgery?
Although experts are calling for tighter regulations in regard to anti-ageing injections, this will be little comfort to those who have already been injured as a result of dermal fillers. That is why if you are one such victim, you need to seek legal advice, as you may be able to claim compensation.
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