He's the NHS surgeon on the front line of Britain's botched beauty crisis. While many seek a perfect pout or chiselled cheeks, a growing number are ending up in his clinic after cosmetic procedures go disastrously wrong.
Consultant plastic surgeon Mr. Naveen Cavale has become an accidental specialist in fixing the fallout from cheap fillers, illegal silicone injections, and even DIY procedures performed by unqualified practitioners. His waiting room tells a story of a booming underground beauty industry leaving a trail of devastation.
The Human Cost of Cheap Fillers
"I see at least one patient a week who needs emergency surgery to correct a botched non-surgical procedure," Mr. Cavale reveals. The most common catastrophes involve dermal fillers, often injected by unregulated beauticians without medical training.
One of the most dangerous complications is vascular occlusion – where filler is accidentally injected into a blood vessel. "This can cut off the blood supply to the skin, causing necrosis, where the tissue dies," Mr. Cavale explains. "It's a surgical emergency that requires immediate treatment to try to save the tissue."
From Silicone to Superglue: The Shocking Substances Found
Beyond legitimate fillers used incorrectly, Mr. Cavale has encountered patients injected with everything from industrial silicone to paraffin and even superglue. These illegal substances can migrate through the body, causing lumps, chronic inflammation, and permanent scarring.
"The people doing this are often completely unaccountable," he states. "They have no insurance, no medical training, and when things go wrong, they simply disappear. The NHS is left to pick up the pieces."
A Call for Change
Mr. Cavale is now joining a growing chorus of medical professionals calling for stricter regulation of the cosmetic industry. He believes fillers should be classified as prescription-only drugs and administered solely by medically trained professionals.
"The current law is absurd," he argues. "You need more qualifications to blow-dry someone's hair than you do to inject a foreign substance into their face. We are seeing the consequences of this every day in our hospitals."
His message to those considering treatment is stark: "Research your practitioner, not just the price. If it seems too cheap to be true, it probably is. And remember, there is no such thing as a 'no-risk' procedure."
