UAE doctors warn against ‘back-street’ fillers amid rise of botched cosmetic surgery

UAE doctors warn against ‘back-street’ fillers amid rise of botched cosmetic surgery

Doctors in the United Arab Emirates say residents are potentially putting their lives at risk by “cutting corners” opting for cut-price cosmetic procedures such as fillers carried out by unlicensed ‘back street’ practitioners. Botched procedures can lead to gangrene, blindness and even death while fake injectables can cause potential catastrophic side-effects. Yet, licensed plastic surgeons are constantly being asked to fix fillers gone wrong, doctors across the country have told Al Arabiya English.

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“People are getting into trouble with the use of non-approved permanent fillers,” said Dr Andrew Ordon, a consultant plastic surgeon at Tajmeel Royal Clinic, Dubai. “What is alarming is that women unknowingly get these illegal fillers made of silicon and plastic polymers in the form of oils and gels.”

“These procedures are being done at homes, hotels and other non-medical facilities.”

Injectables, as the name implies, are used to fill an area, a crease, a wrinkle or a fold or add volume to a certain area like over the cheeks where people age, said Dr Ordon.

“There is no approved permanent medical filler other than one’s own body fat, which is taken from the patient's body and