Surgeon urges people to stop getting unregulated fillers due to high risk

A surgeon has urged people to avoid unregulated beauty fillers and opt for a medical professional if seeking treatment due to high risks during and after procedures.

Unregulated fillers have become a growing concern in the beauty industry, with any ordinary person being able to attend day courses to issue invasive treatments.

Discounts, Instagram followers and social media celebrity endorsements are often used to draw people in – but this is not representative of their qualifications.

One woman escaped death after undergoing a filler treatment by someone with no healthcare qualifications.

Kelly told ITV that she booked in for a liquid Brazilian butt lift (BBL) and breast enhancement through an unregulated aesthetics clinic. She told the outlet that "they're playing with people's lives."

Just two days after the procedure, Kelly started feeling unwell, explaining how it felt as though she "pulled a muscle under [her] arm."

"Within an hour I couldn't walk," she said. "So I was laying down, took some painkillers, and I thought, this is, this is not right."

Kelly's symptoms continued to worsen to the extent that her vision started going.

"By about 9pm that night, we had to phone an ambulance," she explained. "I was rushed straight into hospital, which then they said if I'd have probably stayed at home that night and didn't go in, then I probably wouldn't have been here. So it was that, that bad."

Doctors told her if she hadn't called an ambulance that night, she "wouldn't be here."

No legislation is currently overlooking the beauty industry, but this will change in the near future with plans to implement a traffic light system to monitor the risks of each individual treatment and who can administer them.

Green will consist of low-risk procedures including semi-permanent makeup and laser hair removal, in which any trained practitioner can do.

Amber treatments pose a medium risk must be overseen by a health professional. Meanwhile, red procedures can only be done by qualified health professionals.

Marc Pacifico of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons compared the beauty industry in the UK to the "Wild West."

He acknowledged a growing number of practitioners "with no medical background, no understanding of anatomy, no understanding of surgery performing these procedures for cut price opportunities."

Health Minister Maria Caulfield noted the widescale issue and said it is being addressed.

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