Experts warn 'sun, sea and surgery' cosmetic tourism packages carry serious risks

Cosmetic surgery sold abroad as a "sun, sea and surgery" package can end in infection, disfigurement and death, experts have warned, as the British College of Aesthetic Medicine launched a checklist to help patients "vet it before you get it".

The campaign sets out red flags and advises anyone considering an overseas procedure to independently verify a surgeon's qualifications, find out what emergency facilities are available near the chosen clinic, and establish what insurance the practitioner has in place.

Nora Nugent, a consultant plastic surgeon and former president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, said the risks of travelling to countries such as Turkey for surgery go well beyond the operating table. "Actually, the risks start from the moment you step on the plane to after you return home, and until you're fully healed and you're out of the clotting risk time," she said, noting that travel itself can increase the risk of clots. A lack of in-person aftercare is a further concern. She said a major driver for patients going abroad is relative cheapness, while UK prices are higher because of factors including the cost of living and higher medical indemnity and insurance fees.

Turkey popular, but hardest for legal claims

Chrissie Wolfe, founder and chief executive of the medical negligence practice Lupa Law, said claims can be difficult when procedures go wrong overseas, and that compensation may be far lower than in the UK. "Turkey is the most popular destination by far for cosmetic surgery, but it is absolutely the most difficult from a legal perspective," she said. "When something goes wrong, it's incredibly difficult to put right."

Wolfe urged caution over clinics selling bundles of procedures or time-limited deals, citing a patient who went to Turkey for a tummy tuck but was upsold a "mummy makeover" that included a breast uplift. "She came back and had a very severe infection," Wolfe said. "She ultimately ended up losing most of her left breast and the entire right breast on a procedure that she didn't even want in the first place." She said marketing surgery as a glossy holiday "shifts the patient's mind away from the seriousness of what they're actually embarking on".

Growing numbers travel overseas

Office for National Statistics data shows about 524,000 people in Great Britain travelled abroad for medical treatment in 2024, including cosmetic procedures, up from 431,000 in 2023. The then health secretary, Wes Streeting, urged caution over such procedures in 2024. Brazilian butt lifts carry the highest risk of death, but other procedures have also left patients with problems.

Nugent described three cases: a woman who developed abscesses and infections in her neck after a facelift and needed long-term antibiotics and drainage; a woman in her late 20s who had a breast lift and labiaplasty abroad and was left with tissue loss on one breast, an exposed implant and over-reduced labia requiring corrective surgery; and a woman whose tummy tuck wound came apart and needed surgical cleaning.

"But you can't get things back to how they were," Nugent said.

Source: The Guardian.