Crackdown on facial filler 'cowboys' who leave clients disfigured Injecting fillers to require special training, NHS medical director to announce Lack of expertise and regulations pose 'unreasonable risks' to patients Review of the cosmetic surgery industry led by Sir Bruce Keogh due in April By Fiona Macrae Demands: Sir Bruce Keogh says there is a need to improve plastic surgery patients' safety Beauty therapists, hairdressers and doctors will have to undergo special training before injecting women with dermal fillers, the medical director of the NHS is expected to announce. Sir Bruce Keogh, who is leading a Government review of the booming plastic surgery industry, said that a lack of expertise means patients having the popular non-surgical treatments are exposed to "unreasonable risks." Unlike Botox, which smooths out lines by paralysing muscles, fillers plump up the skin, fill in wrinkles and crow's feet and create younger-looking cheeks and lips. Once the preserve of the rich and famous, they have soared in popularity as prices have dropped. However, there is growing concern that those who inject the substances lack the knowledge and skill to do it properly. As a result, patients, who are mainly female, are suffering complications from swelling and bruising to blindness, with knock-on financial and psychological effects. The Daily Mail reported the case of a bride whose wedding was ruined after the facial fillers she paid for to look perfect for her big day left her with serious nerve damage, blurred vision, insomnia and depression. A survey of plastic surgeons last year found that up to 70 per cent have been sought out by patients with complications caused by fillers - almost three times the figure three years previously. Many of professionals who inject them will have undergone only a few hours of training, which could be as basic as watching a demonstration before practising on a friend. Sir Bruce, who is due to publish his review of the cosmetic surgery industry as a whole later this month, said there was a "clear need" to improve patient safety. This could take the form of a new law which would require everyone administering the treatments to have formal qualifications. Sir Bruce said: "I am concerned that some practitioners who are giving non-surgical treatments may not have had any appropriate training whatsoever. This leaves people exposed to unreasonable risks, and possibly permanent damage. And our research has shown that the public expect procedures that are so widely available to be safe whereas they are largely unregulated. Danger: The fact that doctors, hairdressers and beauty therapists are not required to undergo proper training is exposing their mainly female patients to 'unreasonable risks' There is a clear need for better quality, recognised training for the people performing these operations. My review will make a number of recommendations for making sure people who choose to undergo these procedures are in safe hands. The EU is drafting its own guidelines but these are at an earlier stage. The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons gave Sir Bruce's comments a cautious welcome. It agrees more training is needed but wants the treatments to be administered solely by medical professionals, capable of spotting and treating any resulting health or psychological problems. The crackdown on the industry, which will cover everything from breast implants to Botox, is also likely to include banning cut-price deals and the introduction of a staged process of consent to give patients time to reflect on their decision. Victim: Sarah Payne was left with permanent scars after a busted filler procedure Sarah Payne couldn't bear to look in the mirror after she had a facial filler treatment that went horribly wrong. Miss Payne, 58, paid for injections to plump up her cheeks. At first, she was pleased with the results. But the filler quickly splintered into tiny pieces and complications set in. Miss Payne, a mother of three from central London, developed visible, hard lumps in her left cheek and under her right eye and severe swelling. She said: "I became very scared as the lumps got worse. 'I had always been proud of my physical appearance but couldn't bear to look at myself in the mirror. Corrective surgery five years later, in 2010, removed some but not all of the fragments of filler and she has been left scarred. Last night, Miss Payne said that better training for those giving the jabs is not the only answer to ensuring such procedures are safe. She said the Government needs to do more to ensure the safety of the substances themselves. The retired beauty clinic worker said: "The Government is taking the easy option."