The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) has unveiled new figures showing complications from patients having surgery abroad rose during the pandemic.
A new BAAPS audit evidenced that 324 patients required corrective surgery after returning to the UK in the past four years. The annual number rose by 44% in 2021 compared to the previous year, a period when people were being advised against elective surgery and unnecessary travel, explains BAAPS.
In 2021, 75 women and seven men were treated for complications caused by surgeries abroad, which included some life threatening problems such as a need for emergency surgical removal of dead skin tissue and admission to intensive care for life support following systemic infection. The survey revealed that 100% of complications came from Turkey and abdominoplasty accounted for 75% of complications, followed by breast surgery procedures at 25%.
Consultant plastic surgeon and BAAPS council member Miss Caroline Payne commented, “BAAPS members were very cautious in recommending surgery during the pandemic. Additionally, many private hospitals were assisting the NHS with their facilities to help with emergency and urgent medical need. Unfortunately, the pandemic does not seem to have deterred patients seeking low-cost options abroad and some UK clinics are paid to refer patients to Turkey.”
