People travelling abroad for cosmetic, eye or weight-loss surgery could be costing the NHS up to £20,000 per patient after botched procedures, concerning new data reveals.
An audit published in the British Medical Journal warns that the growing trend for so-called medical tourism is placing a significant and largely avoidable burden on NHS services - with complications often emerging days or weeks after patients return to the UK.
Researchers found 655 patients were treated by the NHS between 2011 and 2024 after undergoing bariatric, cosmetic or eye surgery overseas, most commonly in Turkey.
Emergency and urgent procedures, cancer care, fertility treatment, dentistry and transplants were excluded from the analysis.
Turkey remains one of the most popular destinations for cut-price cosmetic and weight-loss surgery, but clinics across multiple continents were implicated in what researchers described as an expanding catalogue of serious complications.
The authors said the true cost to the NHS is likely to be much higher than current estimates, due to gaps in reporting and the absence of national data on how many UK residents seek elective surgery abroad.
They warned: 'Those seeking medical treatment abroad should be made aware of which complications the NHS is responsible for treating, and costs for which the patient may be potentially personally liable, including non-emergency treatment.'
Patients travelled abroad for elective surgery for several reasons - including long NHS waiting lists, ineligibility for NHS procedures, availability, and lower upfront costs.
But researchers said many were not adequately informed about the risks or the lack of NHS aftercare - despite the fact that complications can require prolonged and expensive treatment on return.
Surgeons reported patients being lured by what appeared to be 'bargain' procedures, including breast enlargements, tummy tucks and bariatric operations such as gastric sleeves and bands - with women most likely to seek treatment abroad.
Instead, many returned with debilitating abdominal pain, bowel obstructions, hernias, weight regain, and in some cases flesh-eating bacterial infections.
Others developed life-threatening blood clots that required urgent NHS intervention, sometimes within days of arriving back in the UK.
While bariatric surgery can cost as little as £2,000 in Turkey, private procedures in the UK typically start at around £10,000.
On the NHS, patients are only eligible for weight-loss surgery if they have tried and failed to lose weight through other clinically supervised methods.
The audit found at least 196 patients experienced moderate to severe complications following overseas gastric sleeve surgery, breast enlargement or abdominoplasty.
Clinics in Turkey advertise a wide range of controversial procedures, including liposuction claiming to remove up to 15 litres of fat, Brazilian butt lifts, eye-colour-changing laser treatments and hymenoplasty.
Researchers estimated the cost to the NHS of treating each patient ranged from £1,058 for minor complications to £19,549 for severe cases in 2024, though they stressed this was likely a significant underestimate.
'Evidence suggests that outward medical tourism for metabolic and bariatric surgery, cosmetic surgery and ophthalmic surgery can result in serious complications that are treated at NHS specialist units in the UK.
'We still do not know how many people resident in the UK go abroad for elective surgery, or how many subsequently experience complications.
'Without these data, we cannot fully understand the levels of risk that people seeking surgery abroad are taking.'
The researchers called for public awareness campaigns to ensure patients understand the potential consequences before travelling overseas for surgery.
The estimated costs include staff wages, medications, specialist equipment and ongoing follow-up care.
The NHS currently advises patients considering bariatric surgery abroad to 'weigh up any potential savings against the potential risks', warning that standards may be lower than in the UK and that aftercare is 'not always straightforward'.
Brits who have died after going under the knife in Turkey
At least 25 Brits have died as a result of medical tourism trips to Turkey since January 2019, according to the Government's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Leah Cambridge
Leah Cambridge, 29, suffered a blood clot during a £6,500 Brazilian butt lift surgery in Turkey.
The mother-of-three, from Leeds, died just one day after travelling to an Elite Aftercare clinic in Turkey in August 2018.
The trainee beautician, described as being 'paranoid about her body', paid in cash for the procedure after being inspired by pictures on Instagram.
The procedure involved having fat extracted from the waist and injected into the buttocks.
But she suffered a fatal complication when fat was accidentally injected into a vein causing her to have three heart attacks on the operating table.
Ms Cambridge's partner Scott Franks told Wakefield Coroner's Court that the surgeon who carried out the procedure told him he had 'injected the fat too far into the muscle and it entered her veins'.
Mr Franks said when he flew out to Turkey after his partner died, Dr Ali Uckan, the surgeon who treated Leah, had told him: 'It's a guessing game; you can't see where you are going into.'
Ms Cambridge father Craig took his own life in 2021 with an inquest held in July last year hearing how he was never able to get past the loss of his daughter.
Diarra Akua Eunice Brown
Diarra Brown, 28, died after having liposuction in Turkey
Diarra Akua Eunice Brown, died aged 28 two days after getting liposuction at a clinic in the suburb of Bahcelievler in Istanbul in October 2021.
She reportedly underwent the operation to have fat removed from her hips.
While the procedure initially appeared to be a success, Ms Brown ‘suddenly’ fell ill while having her dressings changed.
She died just hours later.
Social media posts from family and friends described her as a ‘beautiful soul’ and a ‘close friend’.
‘This must be a dream,’ one post said. ‘Still can’t come to terms with this yet.’
‘I miss you angel. I’m devastated you were taken away way before your time,’ said another.
Shannon Bowe
Shannon Bowe, 28 died after undergoing gastric band surgery in Turkey
Shannon Bowe, from Denny, near Falkirk, died while undergoing gastric band surgery in Turkey in April 2023.
The 28-year-old passed away during the procedure which involves placing a band around the stomach.
Where exactly Ms Bowe had the procedure in Turkey and the complication that led to her death have not been revealed.
In the aftermath of her death, Ms Bowe’s boyfriend Ross Stirling wrote on social media: ‘Sleep tight my angel, love you forever and always.’
Melissa Kerr
Melissa Kerr, 31, of Gorleston, Norfolk, died after having a BBL in Turkey
Melissa Kerr, 31, died while undergoing a Brazilian butt lift in Turkey in 2019, just before her wedding.
Ms Kerr traveled to Istanbul’s Medicana Haznedar Hospital in November that year for gluteal augmentation, which can cost up to £3,150.
The psychological wellbeing practitioner, from Gorleston, Norfolk, died from a blocked artery in her lung as a result of undergoing the surgery.
Her twin sister Natasha who set up a justgiving.com page after her death described her a ‘a pure and beautiful soul inside and out’.
She said: ‘Words cannot describe the pain and heartbreak we are going through; life without her will never be the same again.’
‘We miss her deeply and nothing will fill the emptiness we are left with.’
Melissa’s partner Skye Birch said: ‘I will continue to love you with all my heart until my last breath.’
Ms Kerr also worked as a volunteer helping domestic violence victims and supporting people through bereavement.
Abimbola Ajoke Bamgbose
Abimbola Ajoke Bamgbose, 38, died after liposuction in Turkey
Abimbola Ajoke Bamgbose, a 38-year-old social worker, from Dartford, Kent, died in August 2020 after undergoing liposuction surgery in Turkey.
The mother-of-three bought an overseas package deal with Mono Cosmetic Surgery after becoming fed-up with people asking her if she was pregnant, according to her husband.
A post-mortem examination found that Mrs Bamgbose suffered perforations to her bowel during the surgery, with the cause of death given as peritonitis with multiple organ failure.
Peritonitis is an infection of the peritoneum, the inner lining of the tummy which covers vital internal organs like the kidneys, liver and bowel.
Her husband Moyosore Olowo told an inquest he was unaware his wife had traveled abroad for cosmetic surgery; instead believing she had simply gone on holiday with her friends.
It was not until Mrs Bamgbose called her husband to say she was suffering from stomach pains following the procedure that he found out what had happened.
Mr Olowo said his wife had visited a private medical practice in the UK for surgery but added that the cost had been too high for her to have the treatment in Britain.