People chasing an "Instagram look" through cheap cosmetic surgery abroad are burdening the NHS when it goes wrong, a Norwich-based plastic surgeon has warned.
Elaine Sassoon, a plastic surgeon based at Spire Hospital in the city, has urged people to do their research very carefully before travelling overseas for cheaper surgery.
Miss Sassoon said plastic surgery at cut prices in Turkey has become increasingly popular in recent months - driven by social media influencers flocking abroad in a trend known as "cosmetic tourism".
Celebrities including Katie Price, Danniella Westbrook and Danielle Lloyd are among those who have travelled to Turkey for cosmetic surgeries in recent months.
But Miss Sassoon says fears many people following their footsteps are returning with serious side effects and seeking help from the NHS, after not properly researching who is doing their surgeries.
She said: "A big part of the problem is you increasingly see influencers having plastic surgery - often for free in exchange for exposure - and raving about their results.
"This makes people want to chase that Instagram look and rush into things without doing any real research.
"You wouldn't have somebody carry out building work on your home without knowing who they are, so why would you let people you don't know cut you open?"
She said that botched surgeries are leading to a host of complications which require NHS treatment.
These include infections, blood clots and deep vein thrombosis and breast implant extrusion.
The Spire surgeon sits on the board of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, which has issued a joint statement with its equivalent body in Turkey emphasising the importance of researching procedures.
According to BAAPS, more than 100 people in the past few months have returned from Turkey with complications.
The warnings come more than three years after the death of Melissa Kerr, a 31-year-old Gorleston woman who died while undergoing a cosmetic surgery in Istanbul.
Miss Sassoon added: "We're not saying people should not go to Turkey at all - but do your research first.
"We'd also encourage anybody that has experienced complications to report it at baaps.org.uk"
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