CASPA

Demand for cosmetic surgery is increasing year on year. The International Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) statistics in 2017 reported an overall 9% increase in cosmetic procedures over a 12-month period. More recently, in the United Kingdom the British Association for Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) national audit in 2022 reported a 102% increase in cosmetic procedures performed nationally. Furthermore, there is a growing trend in patients seeking cosmetic surgery abroad, resulting in an increase in complications on their return. The BAAPS 2022 audit found a 44% increase in 2021 of complications following cosmetic surgery abroad, including life-threatening concerns necessitating emergency surgical debridement and intensive-care admission for sepsis.

This national concern is twofold: firstly, the increased burden placed on the NHS and secondly, the physical and psychological burden placed on the patient. The BAAPS 2017 study has estimated that managing complications following cosmetic surgery abroad is costing the NHS on average £13, 500 per individual, and this is increasing to approximately £15,000 in recent years. 

Moreover, there is little public awareness of the incidence of complications following cosmetic surgery abroad, and of the additional financial burden incurred on seeking treatment and corrective procedures (both privately and through the NHS).