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Botox is an incredibly popular treatment; however it is also highly unregulated. Over the years, as the popularity of this procedure has grown, so has the call from many qualified surgeons for the regulation to grow with it. This is not surprising when you can go into your local hairdresser and have Botox – something that unquestionably worries those qualified who knows all the risks.

So what can happen when Botox is negligently administered? Please be aware that this blog focuses on conditions that arise out of negligence of the surgeon/doctor etc. Every cosmetic surgery procedure carries with it inherent risks and therefore it is imperative to distinguish between inherent risks and those caused by negligence as inherent risks are normally something that you simply accept when you sign any agreement (usually).

Botulinum toxin is a toxin that in large amounts can cause paralysis – of course in small amounts it has proven to correct those “laughter lines” as it relaxes the skin. A common misconception with Botox is that it tightens but this is not true- it relaxes the skin making it appear softer and consequently wrinkles less noticeable.
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We live in a world where image is everything! Nowadays it is so easy to get access to invasive surgery to enhance the way our body looks. From the well known face lifts and Botox treatment to breast implants, nose reshaping, and even buttock implants (which sounds crazy!), it’s all available on the high street for the right price.

But one thing that many people are not too aware of is the relatively poor state of the regulation here in the UK for cosmetic surgery. Don’t get me wrong, there is regulation; but we have all learned from the PIP breast implant scandal that there is nowhere near enough protection for people who have suffered due to negligence in the cosmetic surgery industry. There are no group insurance schemes for when a clinic goes in to liquidation (of which some have purposefully chosen this route to avoid paying out!) and clearly there is not enough being done to make sure that products used in the body are continually tested.

Anyway, breast implants aside, where do you stand when it comes to needing legal advice or representation for a plastic surgery claim? Do you have the right to claim compensation when something has not turned out the way it was meant to?
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Spinal Surgery Claims come under the field of medical negligence which is a specialised area of personal injury law. It is imperative that you speak to a firm with experience in dealing with similar medical negligence matters. By its very nature, spinal surgery is dangerous; it is probably one of the most dangerous types of surgery there is. Spinal surgeons are extremely experienced and highly skilled individuals. However, should something go wrong, the potential effects can be devastating. The injuries are likely to be life changing, with individuals requiring constant care and attention.

One potential danger or effect is nerve damage. Although spinal surgeons are experienced and highly skilled, there is no guarantee with surgery and there are always inherent risks involved. You may be referred for spinal surgery if you are in severe pain and that pain has not improved with other treatments. Other treatment could include physiotherapy, pain management, manipulation, acupuncture etc. Spinal surgery should not be undertaken lightly and is normally a final option should less invasive treatment not be successful. There could be a number of conditions that lead to spinal surgery. Your surgeon may use open or keyhole surgery. Open surgery normally means making a singular large cut on your back. Keyhole surgery means making several small cuts on your back. Your surgeon will use special instruments to perform the operation.
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These days if you do not like something about your body and how you look, there is normally always a cosmetic procedure that can help. Although not one of the most advertised procedures, buttock augmentations is a procedure that is increasing in popularity with people yearning for a derrière to rival Kim Kardashian and Nicki Minaj.

Buttock augmentation is incredibly similar to a breast augmentation – the obvious difference being that it is a different part of the body. The procedure involves implants (similar to those used in breast augmentation) being placed underneath the gluteus maximus muscle through an incision just above the tailbone. The procedure can often last around 2 hours but after care can be much more demanding than with breast surgery with guidelines concerning sleeping on your front and reducing the amount of time sitting during the first few weeks.

Just like other cosmetic procedures, the decision to go under the knife for buttock implants should never be one that is taken lightly as unfortunately things can go wrong and consequently you could suffer from long term health effects.
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The United Kingdom is now the obesity capital of Europe with every magazine and newspaper having at least one story everyday about the way that our society now looks upon food and being overweight. One of the hot topics in this area is that of Gastric band surgery, especially with the high profile case of Fern Britton and her fast weight loss because of the surgery.

Whether your opinion on the surgery is positive or negative, it seems that it is time to accept that people will now start to turn away from the traditional way of losing weight (dieting and exercise) and instead turn to the help of an operating table, a surgeon, and the knife.
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There are several different procedures that are covered by the term “facial surgery” and this area of the body is one of the most common areas for people to undergo cosmetic surgery. Procedures can include:

• Eyelid surgery
• Cheek augmentation
• Forehead lifts
• Face lifts
• Skin peels- including the current celebrity favourite the “Vampire Facial” recently demonstrated by Kim Kardashian on her TV show.

All of these procedures are designed to give people that everlasting youthful look by manipulating and changing the features of the face to try and reach desired “perfection”. However, given that facial surgery is so common and involves a very exposed area of the body, when something goes wrong the affects can be utterly devastating.

Some of the most common problems caused by these procedures are as follows:
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In these difficult financial times, most public sector services are spread thin. There’s an insane amount of potholes littering our roads as local authorises cannot keep up with the sheer volume of defects popping up in the road; school classrooms are become increasingly overcrowded; and people are being let down by NHS care professionals.

Now I want it to be known that I’m not ‘having a go’ at the majority of NHS staff who work unsociable hours and under significant amounts of pressure to provide the level of care that is expected of them. They’re fighting an uphill battle to keep on top of trying to put everyone’s needs first. I’ve been hospitalised, and during the six days in total I was there, it was clear to see how difficult it was for the nursing staff to keep up with the demand from patients.

But sadly, with falls in the level of expected care, comes an increase in the amount of people pursuing claims for compensation against the NHS. We live in an age now where people are much more confident about voicing their opinions when they feel the level of care received has been below standard. Complaints and claims against the NHS are therefore on the increase‘.
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Cosmetic surgery in general is a common thing for people to undertake. Breast implants in particular are very common nowadays, with prices in the region of £5,000 from the private sector. All invasive surgery carries with it potential risks, and breast implant claims come with the same risks most surgery comes with. But aside from the inherent risks, you are putting yourself in danger of suffering due to negligence.

With the PIP breast implant scandal still ongoing, we learned a great deal about just how unregulated the cosmetic surgery industry is here in the UK. A total of around 40,000 women in the UK alone are thought to have received the implants privately, which were filled with none medical grade standard silicon and are likely to rupture. Apparently, for almost a decade nobody knew that the PIP Company were putting people’s lives in danger.

So when you go for cosmetic surgery, there are serious risks and unknowns that you should always consider. How do you know that the implants you are being given are safe? How do you know that your surgeon is going to do a good job? Given the poor regulation in the industry, at present, you don’t. So what happens when things go wrong?
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Tens of thousands of UK residents choose to have cosmetic surgery every year. The industry is fairly unregulated, as we came to understand from the PIP breast augmentation scandal from 2012. Each year thousands of people end up turning to lawyers because they want to make a claim for compensation for cosmetic surgery gone wrong.

In this article, we’re going to talk about nose surgery (rhinoplasty) compensation claims.

I can understand why some people may want to have a nose job. The nose is one of the most prominent parts of the face, and ultimately an ugly or badly distinguished nose can literally transform a good looking person in to a not so good looking person. It seems obvious that the end result is not always what people are after; cast your memory back to Michael Jackson’s nose, or take a look at Lil’ Kim’s.  But with any cosmetic surgery procedure, things can so easily go wrong.

Here are some classic examples of problems that can be caused by cosmetic surgery negligence:
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The above terms, liposculpture and liposuction, essentially mean the same thing. We are of course talking about a medical procedure whereby fat is suctioned from the body. The fat is removed from the area between the skin and muscular area of the body. This is ordinarily a cosmetic procedure to improve a person’s appearance, usually around the stomach area. Some medical professionals use the two terms to mean slightly different things. For example liposuction is used to remove excess fat and liposculpture is used to remove a lesser amount of fat and is more concentrated in reshaping the fat to improve appearance. Others say the term “liposculpture” is used as a marketing term and that both procedures refer to the same thing.

Before undertaking any form of surgery, your surgeon should explain in full any potential risks or side effects that may occur. When opting for surgery you should always be making an informed decision. No surgical procedure is risk free and sometimes the potential risks could become a reality. So when it comes to making a claim, it really comes down to whether an actual mistake has been made either practically, or arising from advice given to you about potential risks of the procedure.
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