Travelling abroad for cosmetic surgery is frequently marketed as an attractive blend of sunshine, beaches and affordable procedures, but medical experts are warning that such trips can result in serious infections, permanent disfigurement and, in some cases, death.
Nora Nugent, a consultant plastic surgeon and former president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, said heading to countries such as Turkey for surgery carried a wide range of dangers that extend well beyond the operating theatre. "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, pointing out that air travel itself raises the risk of blood clots. She added that the absence of in-person aftercare was another significant concern.
In response to the trend, the British College of Aesthetic Medicine has launched a checklist under its "vet it before you get it" campaign, designed to help prospective patients make safer decisions about having cosmetic procedures abroad. Alongside listing red flags to watch for, the campaign advises people to independently confirm a surgeon's qualifications, check what emergency facilities exist near the clinic and establish what insurance the practitioner holds.
Nugent said the lower prices available in countries such as Turkey were a major draw for patients, explaining that higher UK costs reflected factors such as the cost of living and steeper medical indemnity and insurance fees.
Chrissie Wolfe, founder and chief executive of specialist medical negligence practice Lupa Law, said patients could face a string of obstacles in pursuing a claim if a procedure went wrong overseas, and that any compensation awarded could be considerably less 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 cautioned that patients should be suspicious of clinics offering bundled procedures or time-limited deals. She described one patient who travelled to Turkey for a tummy tuck but was persuaded to undergo a "mummy makeover" that included a breast uplift. "She came back and had a very severe infection," she 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 added that packaging surgery as a glamorous holiday was problematic, saying: "It shifts the patient's mind away from the seriousness of what they're actually embarking on."
The warnings are not new. In 2024, the then health secretary, Wes Streeting, urged people to be cautious about such procedures. Yet figures suggest rising numbers of British residents are going abroad for medical treatment. Data from the Office for National Statistics shows about 524,000 did so in 2024, including cosmetic procedures, compared with 431,000 in 2023.
Brazilian butt lifts carry the highest risk of death, but other overseas procedures have also left patients with lasting harm. Nugent described a woman who developed abscesses and infections in her neck after a facelift, requiring long-term antibiotics and drainage procedures and leaving her with significant scarring. Another woman in her late 20s had a breast lift and labiaplasty abroad after pregnancy, and suffered tissue loss on one breast, an exposed implant and over-reduced labia, needing corrective surgery as a result. "But you can't get things back to how they were," Nugent said.
A third patient underwent a tummy tuck overseas, but the wound came apart and had to be surgically cleaned, leaving her with scarring and a dip in her stomach. "These are three examples of patients who suffered fairly horrific complications from procedures that were meant to improve how they looked and how they felt about themselves and have ended up doing exactly the opposite," Nugent said.
