Cosmetic surgery being carried out in 'living rooms and Airbnbs' becoming 'significant burden' on NHS

14 May 2025, 20:55

Calls have been made for new legislation around cosmetic surgery, with procedures conducted by unqualified practitioners becoming a “significant burden” on the NHS.

Brazilian butt lifts (BBLs) are being carried out “by anyone” in people's living rooms, in Airbnbs and in hotel rooms, leading to adverse health effects, MPs have heard.

Ashton Collins, director of Save Face, a register of accredited practitioners for cosmetic surgery, told the Women and Equalities Committee there is a "crisis waiting to happen" because of "grey areas" in regulation.

She has called for the introduction of Alice’s Law - legislation to ensure that such BBLs are conducted only by qualified surgeons - named after a young mother who died after a BBL.

Leading nurses have expressed concern that procedures abroad are being sold as "holiday packages", and have called for companies providing the operations to cover the NHS costs should there be negative side effects.

The committee also heard from Sasha Dean, who nearly died from sepsis after getting a BBL.

"The impact is profound," she said as she told MPs how she was "lulled into a sense of security" and she was "misinformed".

"These are being carried out by anybody, they don't need any qualifications," she told MPs.

Ms Collins said: "These are surgical procedures that should not be being carried out on the high street - they are being carried out in people's living rooms, in Airbnbs, in hotel rooms, by people who are using products that they're buying unlicensed from places like China and Korea.

"They are decanting them from huge vats into individual syringes and inject thousands of millilitres into people's breasts and buttocks.

"And then when things go wrong, they are misdiagnosing these problems and telling them there's nothing to worry about, and luckily, all of these women have taken themselves off to hospital, because if they hadn't, there would have been countless deaths in the UK because of this, and it shouldn't be allowed to happen."

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Ms Collins added that social media is a "hotbed for unscrupulous practitioners" promoting cosmetic surgery, with young people "being mis-sold on an enormous scale".

Meanwhile, Professor Vivien Lees, consultant plastic surgeon and vice president at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said the current regulations surrounding such procedures are "insufficient".

She said: "The global market cosmetic surgery is going to grow threefold, it's estimated, within the decade.

"So we're going to see a lot more problems in terms of absolute numbers. We need to set up a structure that will adequately support legitimate work."

The procedures being conducted abroad could also be causing a potentially deadly resistance to antibiotics, the Royal College of Nursing's annual congress in Liverpool heard.

The RCN annual meeting also heard that the trend of people travelling overseas for the likes of weight loss surgery, dental care and cosmetic procedures is "likely to grow", despite some patients dying from complications.

Nicola Smith, who works in district nursing, told delegates: "Over the last two years, I've seen some horrendous, horrendous wounds coming back from people that have had surgery abroad.

"A lot of young people are very exposed to social media. You know, 'you can have a holiday, six grand'."

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS England's national medical director, said: "I would urge people looking to have surgical treatments abroad or privately to carefully consider not only the safety standards of the clinic, but the aftercare provided, as these procedures can go wrong even if the right standards are in place.

"The NHS is far too often left to provide support for issues with surgical and cosmetic procedures carried out abroad. This puts unplanned pressure on teams who are working hard to deliver essential care for patients within the NHS."