Cheap cosmetic treatments could leave Scots with black lips or even blind, a leading clinician from Glasgow has warned.
Dr Paige Shaw, a specialist facial aesthetic treatments dentist at Ever Clinic, says cheap treatments could leave patients with a 'lifetime of pain'.
The stark warning comes as increasing numbers of people suffer life-changing complications after treatment in unregulated 'travelling clinics'.
She says patients receiving lip fillers abroad have been left with black, 'necrotic' or even rotting lips as a result of poor treatment standards.
If not treated in time, sufferers can face a lifetime of corrective treatments, costing them thousands more than their cheap deal appeared to save them.
Dr Shaw said: “We are seeing increasing numbers of patients who are desperate to have complications fixed.
“The most damaging cases I have seen are vascular occlusion – when a lip filler gets into a blood vessel or blocks blood supply.
“The results can be horrendous. The lips can turn black and eventually necrotic – that is, the death of living tissue.
"Eventually if untreated, it leaves scar tissue – and a lifetime of regret for the sufferer.”
Non-surgical procedures account for nine out of 10 cosmetic procedures, and make up 70 per cent of the market - which is worth in excess of £3.6 billion in the UK.
Dr Shaw, who focuses on head and neck treatments, said if unqualified practitioners inject filler into the nose, it can affect vessels that connect to the eye – potentially causing permanent blindness.
Prompt treatment is required to remove the filler to prevent life changing complications, something which is impossible if the practitioner was operating from a travelling clinic which has moved on.
She warned that many victims of these botched treatments end up being sent to NHS hospitals for treatment - where doctors are often not familar with responding to failed aesthetic treatments.
Dr Shaw said: “Aside from any other considerations, it is quite unfair to load yet more pressure on an NHS which is already under huge pressure.
"If things go wrong and you have seen a professionally qualified medical practitioner with all the right equipment and medical colleague support, you are much more likely as a patient to have problems corrected by them and, if not, be referred to the appropriate person.”
Read more: Dermal fillers home kit warning issued by Glasgow doctor
According to Dr Shaw, the five most common dangers associated with cosmetic procedures are infection at the procedure site, bruising, migration of the filler away from the intendeed site, asymmetry and nodules that cause complications later.
She added: “While properly procured dermal fillers are safe and effective in the right hands, there are unscrupulous people in the world who will try to take advantage of others.
“Anyone thinking of a procedure should seek out suitably qualified and experienced professionals. These should be medical practitioners who meet set standards in training, skills and insurance.
“Mounting evidence shows the cheapest options are just not worth it.”
Story by Ed Cullinane, SWNS
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