Botched Dermal Filler Procedures Growing in Europe

Thanks to a growing number of botched dermal filler procedures that have been performed in the United Kingdom, a group of plastic surgeons are issuing warnings and telling consumers that tighter regulations are necessary in order to protect patients from people performing dermal filler injections that are not properly trained in the procedure.

A Dermal Filler Warning from the United Kingdom

The British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons recently issued the warning along with the support of a number of industry leaders. The warning was issued before a parliamentary debate regarding the dangers presented by nonsurgical treatments such as dermal fillers which are used to lessen the appearance of lines, wrinkles and creases in the skin as well as add more volume that has been lost due to the aging process.

These Members of Parliament (MP) are voicing their concern after a Save Face report showed there were 934 complaints about nonsurgical procedures in 2018. This number was a significant increase from the total number of 378 complaints just two years earlier.

When taking a closer look at the complaints that were reported, 616 of the complaints were concerned about dermal fillers while 387 of the complaints were from people that reported the results of their procedure as a “botched job”. The people behind the 387 complaints had to undergo a corrective procedure to fix the issue. In addition, 11 of these people ended up having to visit an emergency room thanks to undergoing the procedure.

A Medical Professional speaks out about the Dermal Filler Issue

Alberto Costa, the MP for South Leicestershire, was the leader of the debate in Westminster Hall. When asked about the issue at hand, he said that his “interest in this matter stemmed following a meeting with my constituent Rachael Knappier, who suffered a terrible injury following a botched lip filler treatment. Not only was I shocked to hear Rachael’s experience but similarly I was very concerned to hear that there are almost no regulations or safeguards in place for those who receive these kinds of non-surgical treatments.”

Costa went on to add that these types of procedures were readily available to anyone that wants to undergo them. However, the procedures could possibly be administered by people that have no medical or formal training in administering dermal fillers. If the dermal fillers are injected by a person that is lacking in formal training, it can pose a very serious health risk to those receiving the fillers.

Both doctors and MPs are requesting that dermal fillers be classified as medicines because this would mean that only professionals that have a medical or prescribing qualification would be able to prescribe them to a patient. The doctors and MPS are also asking for the development of clinical guidelines on the use of dermal fillers as well as better opportunities to educate the public about the possible risks of using them.

In Europe, dermal filler products are classified as medical devices. This means they do not undergo the same amount of clinical trials that medicines such as Botox undergo in the United States. In the US, tighter Food and Drug Administration regulations means only 10 dermal fillers are actually approved for use. This number is much smaller in comparison to 160 in Europe. The larger number of fillers available in the United Kingdom means only a limited number of them will have been tested in a limited number of patients.

Doctors are Concerned about Dermal Fillers in Europe

Some doctors are reporting that they are seeing significant complications arising from the use of dermal fillers on a regular basis. They also remark on the common problem that they are having correcting problems caused by people performing the dermal filler injections without the proper amount of training. In addition, they say the materials used during the injection procedure are often cheap as the dermal fillers can be bought on the Internet without the need for them being regulated.

Plus, the “doctors” that are performing the unregulated procedures do not keep patient records so it is very difficult to track exactly which materials have been injected into the patient and by whom. They say that tightening regulations around fillers would make it harder for an individual without training to get the fillers in the first place.

MA