Patient And Legal Team Urge Others To Conduct Thorough Research

A woman is urging people to conduct thorough research before signing up to cosmetic procedures after surgery designed to remove a scar left it larger.

Banw Salih, 31, paid £350 to have a scar on her right elbow removed on the same day she attended an initial face to face consultation. The operating doctor told her that the procedure would be straightforward. No consent form was signed and no risks were mentioned, she said.

However following the procedure, Banw, of Burley, Leeds, noticed that the scar seemed larger than before. Her arm remained painful for more than two months. Banw’s scar remains worse than it originally was.

She instructed specialist cosmetic surgery lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate her treatment under Dr Maziar Sadri, the doctor who performed the procedure.

Following legal submissions, lawyers acting on behalf of Dr Sadri, who does not hold any surgical speciality on the General Medical Counsel register, admitted liability.

Banw has now joined her legal team at Irwin Mitchell in urging people not to rush into cosmetic procedures and that they are aware fully aware of potential complications before signing up.

Expert Opinion

“This is a very worrying case in which we believe Banw’s care did not meet expected professional standards. She began with a small scar but now has a large stretched scar across her elbow.

“Banw is adamant that she would not have gone ahead with the procedure if she had been fully aware of risks and if she had known that Dr Sadri was not recognised by the GMC as a plastic surgeon.

“Whilst we welcome the admission of liability we would always urge anyone seeking cosmetic surgery to ensure they understand all aspects of the treatment, including any potential risks, those involved in the treatment and details regarding what redress is in place in case anything does go wrong.

“Anyone with concerns regarding such treatment should also seek legal advice as soon as possible.” Kathryn Salt - Associate Solicitor

Banw was left with the small scar following a fall as a child. She underwent surgery under local anaesthetic in March 2017.

She had around 10 stitches in her wound. She suffered pain in her arm for around two months and occasional bleeding.

After sending photos to Dr Sadri of her scar, Banw was invited to a follow-up consultation in June 2017 at which Banw was offered free of charge revision surgery and was asked to sign a consent form outlining the risks.

Banw refused to sign this as she hadn’t been presented with a consent form during the first procedure, but underwent surgery. The scar now measures around 40.5mm in length and 16.6mm wide when extended and 22.7mm when flexed.

Irwin Mitchell argued a number of failings in Banw’s care, including that there was a substandard and negligent failure to obtain adequate consent. More specifically, there was no explanation of risks, no signing of a consent form and no other paperwork completed.

Banw remains very self-conscious about the appearance of her scar and avoids wearing short sleeves as a result. It is also believed that any future treatment to reduce her scar will be more high risk, have a much reduce rate of success and could mean lengthening the scar further.

She said: “I was immediately concerned when I saw how my elbow looked after the treatment, but was told everything would be fine. It was awful and while I tried not to move my arm as advised, sometimes I couldn’t help it and it would bleed.

“When I saw the doctor again he said issues like that could sometimes happen, so I asked why I wasn’t told this beforehand. I’m just so frustrated by everything I’ve been through, particularly as the scar is even worse than before.

“I have always been conscious about my scar and thought surgery would remove it. However, it’s much worse now. I’m conscious of showing off my arms and try and wear long sleeves whenever I can.

“I am upset and annoyed by what has happened. The admission of liability is welcome but it is important that lessons are learned from this. I would urge anyone seeking any form of cosmetic surgery to carefully check all of the details and what everything entails and to take their time before agreeing to anything. Failing to do so could have major consequences.”

Find out more about our expertise in supporting cosmetic surgery patients at our medical negligence section. Alternatively to speak to an expert contact us or call 0370 1500 100.