Botched ops abroad cost NHS '£20k per patient'

COSMETIC and obesity surgery abroad is costing the NHS up to £20,000 per patient when things go wrong, analysis suggests.

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A review of surgical tourism found people can spend several weeks in NHS hospitals when they return home from having procedures such as bariatric surgery for obesity, tummy tucks and breast enlargement.

Complications treated by the NHS include infected wounds, with some people needing intensive care and prolonged use of antibiotics.

Researchers said they were also aware of reports of multiple organ failure due to sepsis from wound infection, and death due to hypoxic brain injury and cardiac arrest.