Cosmetic surgery claims

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Cosmetic surgery claims

Guidance for doctors who offer cosmetic interventions, published by the General Medical Council in 2016 and updated in December 2024, describes cosmetic interventions as:

‘…any intervention, procedure or treatment carried out with the primary objective of changing an aspect of a patient’s physical appearance. This includes surgical and non-surgical procedures, both invasive and non-invasive’.

Over recent years there has been an explosion of cosmetic surgery procedures; this growth has been partly contributed to by online discounts. With this increase in procedures comes the potential for things to go wrong.

Examples of common types of claim are:

  1. •

    failure to obtain informed consent

  2. •

    breast enlargement and reduction

  3. •

    facelifts (ryhtidectomy)

  4. •

    eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty)

  5. •

    botox and dermal filler treatment

  6. •

    nose reshaping (rhinoplasty) 

  7. •

    ear reshaping (otoplasty)

  8. •

    brow lifts

  9. •

    laser skin resurfacing 

  10. •

    cosmetic dentistry

  11. •

    tummy tucks or gastric band surgery

  12. •

    liposuction

  13. •

    other complications of surgery, such as damage to nerves, arteries and organs

Cosmetic surgery claims are treated as if they are clinical negligence claims and, in practice, run as such.

A claim for damages will be brought under contract and/or tort law. Where...

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