I've just read in Sky News that face filler injections are now being reported by a senior surgeon as being potentially dangerous:-

"Permanent cosmetic facial filler injections are potentially dangerous and should be removed from sale, a senior surgeon has told Sky News. Dermal fillers are used to plump out wrinkles or change the contours of the face. They are not classified as medicines so they can be administered by people with little or no medical training and after only a few hours basic instruction.

But consultant plastic surgeon Barry Jones warned the injections can have severe implications and said they should all be taken off the market. "The more permanent and semi-permanent fillers can cause very major problems," he said. "If they are lumpy they can be difficult or impossible to remove, and sometimes will cause a very low grade, but very long lasting infection called a chronic granuloma, which can cause swelling, pain and discharge. "Permanent and semi-permanent fillers are dangerous to one's wellbeing, if not to one's life - I would remove them all from the market now."

Dermal fillers are classified in the same way as breast implants - as 'implantable devices' not medicines - so they are not subject to the same stringent testing as new pharmaceutical drugs. In the EU, as long as the filler has a CE safety mark, such as you might find on a washing machine or child's cuddly toy, it can be licensed for use in the UK. In the US, where the fillers are classed as medicine and regulated by the FDA, there are only six dermal fillers licensed for use but in the UK there are more than 160.

Sally Taber, Director of Independent Healthcare Advisory Services (IHAS), which represents the independent healthcare sector in the UK, said: "We have got to get these reclassified as medicines. "What we are saying is - please Government we are aware of our EU legislation but we know that you have got powers in this country to make sure that these are medicines. "What we need is the Government MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority) to take some responsibility for this, talk to the industry and make sure they hear our views. "We can no longer allow beauty therapists in a hair salon, or in a beauty salon, to give these - these are substances that must be handled by the professionals."

European legislation means British patients are effectively being used as a testing ground for new products, according to Barry Jones. He said: "I think it would be fair to say that some manufacturers are using British and Europeans as guinea pigs, or as a testing ground, for products that they know they cannot bring to market in the US without very stringent, expensive testing."

A further eye opener although not something that I would consider having done anyway