A recent BMJ Open study highlights the significant financial and clinical burden placed on the NHS by cosmetic and obesity surgeries performed abroad. Analysis suggests that complications arising from procedures like bariatric surgery, tummy tucks, and breast enlargements can cost the NHS up to £20,000 per patient, with many individuals requiring weeks of hospitalisation and intensive care upon returning to the UK for severe issues such as infected wounds, multiple organ failure, and cardiac arrest. The study authors caution that the true extent of this growing problem is likely underestimated due to a lack of comprehensive data.
This extensive review, based on 37 existing analyses and data from 655 NHS-treated patients between 2011 and 2024, shockingly reveals that 53% experienced moderate to severe complications. These direct hospital costs do not even include additional expenses like GP visits, further increasing the overall burden. Save Face Director Ashton Collins joined ITV News' Nina Hossain in the studio to provide her perspective on these deeply concerning figures from the British Medical Journal.
