Many Dutch patients are enduring severe mutilations from cosmetic procedures performed abroad. An increasing number of victims are seeking help from Stichting Slachtoffers Cosmetic Doctors after failed surgeries.
The draw is low prices in Eastern European countries, Turkey, or neighboring Belgium. Yet, the grave risks of these procedures are too often ignored.
Russian Roulette
Patients seeking beauty enhancements travel abroad independently, pay in cash, undergo major operations, and are swiftly discharged home. Complications soon follow. 'It's like Russian roulette,' explains Sylvia Veerman of Stichting Slachtoffers Cosmetic Doctors.
The foundation sees the most reports on facelifts, nose, and eyelid corrections. Complaints about filler treatments for wrinkles are also surging, according to Irene Mathijssen, president of the Dutch Association for Plastic Surgery (NVPC).
For now, no uniform European regulations exist, with significant legal differences across countries.
