Cosmetic Surgery Solicitors - Why They Are Increasingly in Demand

Cosmetic surgery has continued to surge in popularity in the UK, among both women and men, and across all age groups and social strata. As surgical techniques have improved, cosmetic procedures have become more widely available, and prices have continued to fall. The main problem in the UK is that the industry remains poorly regulated, allowing cowboy practitioners to offer complex invasive surgical procedures which they are not competent to perform. The result is that hundreds of people are either left dissatisfied with the results of cosmetic surgery, or are otherwise injured due to poor patient care or surgical errors.

Fierce competition among cosmetic clinics leads to a situation where the main priority of some is get clients under the knife as quickly as possible. This can lead to surgeons giving prospective patients unrealistic expectations as to what surgery is likely to achieve, and causing subsequent dissatisfaction with the results. Surgical errors may be caused by lack of training, inexperience or poor technique. A patient may be left with asymmetrical results; uneven nipples following a breast reduction operation for example. Otherwise scarring may be extensive, especially where a person is prone to keloid scars, which are raised, prominent, and hard to get rid of.

While most aesthetic damage from cosmetic surgery can be corrected, certain types of functional damage cannot. If a surgeon severs nerves during an operation for example, a patient may be partially paralysed, or may lose the use of one of the major senses, such as loss of sense of smell following a botched Rhinopasty (nose surgery) operation. Errors during breast surgery may lead to loss of physical feeling in the nipples and breasts, and may prevent a woman from breast-feeding in the future. A person may also be disfigured if too much muscle and soft tissues are removed during surgery. In circumstances such as these, the emotional ramifications for an injured person can be equally as bad as the physical pain and suffering caused.

There are various medical complications that a patient may suffer during or after cosmetic surgery, including infections, allergic reactions, blood clots and skin death (necrosis). There are also various contraindications, which make a person unsuitable for cosmetic surgery, and these should be identified during a pre-operative medical consultation. Generally speaking, both clinics and surgeons are expected to show reasonable care and skill when dealing with patients. Where this is not the case, and a patient is injured either physically or emotionally, the latter should seek advice from a specialist cosmetic surgery lawyer, and consider making a claim for compensation against their clinic or surgeon.