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I Perform Revision Surgery – Here’s What Really Goes Wrong With Cheap Ops Abroad

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According to a study presented to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) in November 2024, over 50% of individuals who travel abroad for cosmetic surgery end up regretting their decision.

BAAPS commented on the study, saying: “The findings underscore the hidden costs and potential risks of bargain procedures abroad, with Turkey emerging as a prominent destination.”

To learn more about this high regret rate and the issues people face when heading abroad for cosmetic surgery, HuffPost UK spoke with leading consultant plastic surgeon Elena Prousskaia.

The results of cheap cosmetic surgery can be harmful to our health

Prousskaia says: “As a consultant plastic surgeon with almost 20 years of experience, I regularly see patients dealing with the consequences of low-cost cosmetic procedures performed overseas.

“Many return home with results that are not only disappointing but, in some cases, medically concerning – requiring urgent or complex revision surgery.”

These complications aren’t simple, either.

The consultant reveals: “The complications I most often treat include infection, poor scarring, asymmetry, and, occasionally, permanent tissue damage.

“Commonly, these are for breast augmentation and body contouring surgery. These outcomes aren’t just bad luck – they’re frequently the result of inadequate preoperative screening, rushed consultations and trying to fit in too many patients.”

Undergoing surgery – cosmetic or not – is no small feat, and Prousskaia warns that doing so right after travelling is not advised: “In some cases, patients undergo surgery within 24 hours of landing, without time to recover from travel or receive thorough medical evaluations.”

Postoperative care is often overlooked, too

Proussakaia says: “When it comes to postoperative care, this can be lacking. This could include not having enough time to properly recuperate before discharge, being given inadequate advice to carry on recovery at home and not being properly schooled about how to spot complications.

“Often, when surgery goes wrong, this is during the aftercare – it is such a critical time to be well supported and informed.”

Getting cosmetic surgery in the UK can be more difficult, but with good reason

In the UK, she reveals, we are held to stringent regulatory standards.

“Surgeons are GMC-registered, facilities are inspected, and patients must be given sufficient time and information to make informed decisions. Overseas, standards vary widely. Some clinics prioritise volume over safety, and patients may not meet their surgeon until the day of surgery.

“Revision surgery is not straightforward. Operating on already-compromised tissue increases the risk of further complications, and the psychological impact – from regret to anxiety – can be profound.”

What to do if you’re considering cosmetic surgery abroad

If you are still considering heading overseas for cosmetic treatment, the surgeon recommends following these steps:

  1. Verify credentials – Your surgeon should be listed on a specialist register, such as the GMC in the UK or equivalent in other countries. Ask about their training and how often they perform the procedure you’re considering.
  2. Ask about aftercare – Safe surgery doesn’t end in the operating room. Make sure you’ll receive proper follow-up care and know what support is available if something goes wrong after you return home.
  3. Take your time – Avoid any clinic that rushes you into surgery. You should have time to ask questions, reflect, and fully understand the risks before committing.

“Cosmetic surgery should never be rushed or treated as a ‘bargain’. It’s still surgery — with all the risks that entails. Always choose safety over savings.”

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‘Air Hunger’ Is A Symptom Of Anxiety We Don’t Talk About Nearly Enough

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When Seeley Lutz, a 26-year-old from Alexandria, Virginia, feels overwhelmed — either in a social situation or by all she has to get done — she said she feels like her body starts to shut down.

“I often feel like there’s something heavy sitting atop my chest or blocking my airways, leaving me unable to breathe,” Lutz said. “It truly feels like you’re suffocating even when there’s plenty of oxygen available.”

What she’s experiencing — and what many people experience — is called “air hunger.” John Scott Haldane and James Lorrain Smith coined the term in a 1892 paper. And it’s a common symptom of anxiety, although people rarely talk about how it feels ― or even know that it has a name.

Simply put, air hunger is the feeling that you can’t get enough air. From a medical standpoint, it’s referred to as dyspnea. When anxiety causes it, it’s tied to the “fight or flight” response.

“When we perceive a threat, whether real or imagined, the brain signals the body to enter fight-or-flight mode,” explained Gayle Watts, a clinical psychologist with Turning Tides Psychology. “This activates the sympathetic nervous system, which increases heart rate, tenses muscles and alters breathing patterns.”

To the body, a threat isn’t always as primal or life-threatening as being chased by a bear. It can also be giving a presentation, experiencing a trauma trigger or anything in between.

When your sympathetic nervous system is activated, you may hyperventilate or breathe too quickly or shallowly. That’s where the feeling like you can’t get enough air comes in.

And unfortunately, what may feel instinctual can make matters worse. “Paradoxically, the more we focus on our breathing and try to ‘fix’ it, the more we reinforce the cycle of anxiety and air hunger,” Watts added.

Anxiety and air hunger can become cyclical: You feel anxious, so you experience air hunger, and then struggling to breathe triggers more anxiety. You may then become anxious about, well, feeling anxious, rather than the original threat.

Kyle Elliott, a tech career coach who has anxiety disorders and lives in Santa Barbara, California, has experienced this firsthand. “The stress of the situation caused further anxiety and panic, which only made it seemingly more difficult to breathe,” he said. “I’ve never experienced something so scary before.”

What exactly is behind that? “Anxiety can amplify the perception of breathing difficulties by increasing attention to respiratory sensations, sometimes even when there is no actual physiological distress,” said Harry Cohen, a psychologist and author of ”Be The Sun, Not The Salt.” “The bottom line is that it appears very real to us and feels bad.”

The good news is it won’t last forever. “Air hunger typically subsides relatively quickly,” said Jenelle Thompson-Keene, a licensed professional counsellor with Thriveworks in Champaign, Illinois, specialising in anxiety, coping skills and stress.

If it happens frequently, is intense, or lasts longer than a couple of minutes, or is accompanied by chest pain or nausea, she encouraged seeking help from a professional. Otherwise, the coping skills below should do the trick.

There are a few therapist-backed ways to manage air hunger and your anxiety.

Ekaterina Goncharova via Getty Images

There are a few therapist-backed ways to manage air hunger and your anxiety.

How To Manage Air Hunger

Several physical and mental techniques can calm your body in mere moments. Here are some examples the mental health clinicians shared:

Expose yourself to cold temperatures.

Going outside on a colder day, washing your hands with cold water, taking a cold shower and even dunking your face in a bowl of ice water can calm your anxiety. Thompson-Keene explained it can slow your heart rate. Basically — and at least in the case of dunking your face — you’re triggering the “dive reflex.”

Ground yourself with your senses.

Another way to manage anxiety — and therefore air hunger — is by getting in touch with your five senses with the 5-4-3-2-1 technique.

“Try naming five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell and one thing you can taste,” Watts said. “This brings your awareness back to the present moment and helps disrupt anxious thought patterns.”

Change your posture.

Even in comfortable positions and when air hunger isn’t an issue, you may not be able to breathe as well. So, it’s especially important to be mindful of how you’re sitting during an air hunger “attack.”

“Sitting hunched over can create a sense of restriction, making air hunger feel worse,” Watts said. “If you’re struggling with breathlessness, try sitting up straight or standing and rolling your shoulders back to open up your chest.”

Do a breathing exercise or technique.

As Watts mentioned, people may try to take deeper breaths when they’re experiencing air hunger — it’s only instinctual. And it can make symptoms worse.

“Instead, slowing your breathing and focusing on a structured pattern can help rebalance oxygen and carbon dioxide levels,” she said.

Watts encouraged the 4-7-8 technique: Inhale through your nose for four seconds, hold your breath for seven seconds, then exhale slowly through your mouth for eight seconds.

“This helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which signals to your body that you are safe and can relax,” Watts added.

Cohen also suggested controlled breathing exercises, such as diaphragmatic breathing. Essentially, that technique is about taking deep breaths, feeling your stomach rise as you inhale and sink as you exhale.

“Studies show that focusing on breath patterns enhances respiratory stability and reduces the unpredictability that often fuels panic,” he said.

Try cognitive reframing.

This cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) skill encourages changing your perspective to be more realistic and helpful.

In the case of air hunger, it might look like this: “Air hunger is a perception, not a true lack of oxygen.”

“By understanding the role of the brain in amplifying sensations, people can learn to reinterpret the experience as non-threatening, reducing the emotional distress associated with it,” Cohen explained.

Repeat a positive mantra.

One Thompson-Keene suggested was “I’m safe and this will pass.”

She added, “It is a way to help ground your mind and body in the present moment.”

Practice mindfulness-based stress reduction.

This toolkit is similar to some of the other tips. In practice, it might look like breath awareness, body scans and mindful movement.

Its usefulness is research-backed, too. Cohen said it “has been shown to decrease anxiety by improving one’s ability to interpret bodily sensations accurately, reducing the tendency to catastrophise normal fluctuations in breathing.”

Further, a study in JAMA Psychiatry found it as effective as the gold-standard drug, escitalopram, for patients with anxiety disorders.

Give yourself a ‘butterfly hug.’

This technique incorporates breathing and cross-body tapping, Thompson-Keene said, which many find helpful. She shared this YouTube video that explains how to do it. In short, put your left hand on your right arm and vice versa. Then, tap your arms, focus on breathing, and repeat positive mantras to yourself.

Lutz is a fan of this one. “I’ve found that butterfly hugs sometimes help with this feeling, which is great,” she said.

Whichever tip you use, and however long it takes to work, remember you will survive this, too.

“In a very short period of time, you should be feeling much better,” Cohen said. “Remember, what you’re feeling does feel unpleasant, but it will soon pass.”

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The 7 Medications A Doctor Says You Should Always Avoid While Flying

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According to Skift Research’s Global Travel Outlook report, travel companies are anticipating a 24% rise in the number of trips people are planning for the year ahead compared to 2024.

For many of us, this will mean jetting off on flights abroad and, according to pain management doctor Dr. Sean Ormond from Atlas Pain Specialists who is working in collaboration with Total Travel Protection, we could ruin our holidays before they’ve started by taking certain medications on our flights.

Dr. Ormond shares: “As a pain management doctor, I always emphasise the importance of being mindful of medications, especially while flying.

“Air travel can impact how drugs work in your body, and some meds can cause serious issues at high altitudes.”

7 medications you should never take on a flight

Opioid painkillers

Opioids, such as codeine, can make you drowsy, Dr Ormond urges, “but in the air, their effects can be so much stronger.”

He warns that they can slow down your breathing (already not ideal in a low-oxygen environment) as well as making you feel dizzy, nauseated or even confused.

He advises: “If you need pain relief, consider non-opioid options like ibuprofen or acetaminophen instead.”

Sleeping pills

Trying to knock yourself out for a long-haul flight? Be careful, says Dr Ormond.

“Sleeping pills can leave you overly groggy, disoriented, or even sleepwalking in the aisle (yes, it happens!). And if there’s an emergency, you don’t want to be too out of it to react.”

Instead, he recommends that a good eye mask, neck pillow, and noise-canceling headphones are much safer bets.

Anti-anxiety meds

If you’re a nervous flyer, these may seem like the ideal solution but Dr Ormond warns that they can hit harder at altitude, saying: “You might feel extra sluggish, have trouble breathing, or even pass out mid-flight.

“If flying makes you anxious, try deep breathing, distraction techniques, or even natural remedies like melatonin.”

Diuretics

These meds help with swelling and blood pressure, but they also make you pee- a lot.

“Planes are already dehydrating, so diuretics can leave you dizzy, weak, and lightheaded. If you have to take them, drink extra water (and maybe choose an aisle seat!).”

Drowsy Antihistamines

Old-school allergy meds can knock you out, but not in a good way. They can make you groggy, slow your reaction time, and increase the risk of blood clots since you’re sitting still for so long.

Dr Ormond advises: “If allergies or motion sickness are a problem, go for non-drowsy options like Claritin or Allegra.”

Strong Muscle Relaxers

Muscle relaxers can make you feel wobbly and weak, which isn’t great when you’re in a cramped airplane seat. They can also make it harder to wake up and move around, increasing the risk of blood clots.

Instead, he says, if you have muscle pain, try gentle stretching and those air-activated heat patches instead.

Blood Thinners – Use with care

If you’re on blood thinners, be extra mindful on long flights.

“Sitting for hours raises the risk of blood clots, and if you bump yourself, even a minor injury could cause excessive bleeding. Get up and move every hour, wear compression socks, and talk to your doctor about precautions.”

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Two-Thirds Of People With Dementia Are Women. Experts Now Think They Might Know Why

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Alzheimer’s Research UK says that “Of all people with dementia in the UK, two in three (65%) are women.”

In fact, they write, women over 60 are twice as likely to develop dementia – the leading cause of death in the UK – than they are to get breast cancer.

It can be hard to get clear answers as to why that is. Part of it is likely to be that women simply live longer than men on average – old age is the greatest risk factor for dementia.

But in a recent episode of his podcast Dr Karan Explores, surgeon Dr Karan Rajan spoke to doctors Dean and Ayesha Sherzai, neurologists and codirectors of the Brain Health and Alzheimer’s Prevention Programme at Loma Linda University Medical Centre, who shared that there may be other factors at play too.

Why might women have higher instances of dementia?

“We know that lipid metabolism and how women’s bodies respond to vascular risk factors, whether it’s an abnormal cholesterol panel or abnormal blood pressure, is different” than men’s, Dr Ayesha Sherzai said.

Cleveland Clinic says that women “face unique risks, largely due to differences in anatomy and hormones,” such as narrower blood vessels and fewer red blood cells, when it comes to heart issues.

Heart health and dementia risk have long been linked.

“We also know that in the perimenopausal period, the woman’s body goes through a lot of physiological and neurological changes, because oestrogen is a very important factor in memory creation and in brain health,” the doctor added.

The jury is still out on whether or not oestrogen has protective factors for the brain, though some research done on rats showed that the hormone increased the connections in the memory part of their brain.

The combination of increased effects of vascular issues and the decline in oestrogen as women age “may increase the risk factors” of dementia for women, the expert says.

Any other reasons for the gender gap?

Harvard Health says that aside from the age difference, women are way more likely to develop Alzheimer’s than men. But they are not more likely to develop other kinds of dementia when you adjust for age.

Part of the reason for that may be that women are far more likely to experience autoimmune disorders than men.

That might be because women’s immune system is stronger, which may have the effect of creating more amyloid plaques in the body. These plaques have been linked to dementia.

The university’s site recommends taking aerobic exercise, like swimming, jogging, or dancing up for 30 minutes a day, at least five days a week, sleeping well, socialising, and eating well to mitigate the potential risks.

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I’m A Longevity Expert – This 30-Second Test May Reveal Your Risk Of Early Death

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In a recent episode of the ZOE podcast, Bryan Johnson – a man famous for trying pretty much every supposed longevity booster going – spoke with the gut health company’s co-founder Dr Tim Spector and CEO Jonathan Wolf.

Bryan said that his progress was being measured with a “few different modalities,” adding that it’s possible to “measure the biological age of the heart anatomically.”

Though many of the methods the controversial millionaire uses to track, preserve, and even try to reverse his body’s age are experimental, researchers have found that one of the metrics he uses – resting heart rate – really can be linked to mortality.

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How does resting heart rate affect longevity?

Harvard’s site says that measuring your resting heart rate, or the number of times your heart beats in a set period while you’re relaxed, is “one of the easiest, and maybe most effective” health markers we have.

Dr Jason Wasfy, director of quality and analytics at Massachusetts General Hospital Heart Center, said: “A lower resting heart rate can mean a higher degree of physical fitness, which is associated with reduced rates of cardiac events like heart attacks”.

Meanwhile, a higher resting heart rate could belie an increased risk of cardiac risk “as the more beats your heart has to take eventually takes a toll on its overall function”.

A 2013 study found that men who had a resting heart rate between 81 and 90 had double the risk of premature death than those with a lower heart rate (50 bpm), while those with a resting heart rate above 90 had triple the risk.

With every 10 added beats per minute, they found, the likelihood of premature death upped by 16%.

What’s an ideal resting heart rate?

The British Heart Foundation says an ideal resting heart rate is between 60-100 BPM (beats per minute).

Sometimes, very fit people have a lower heart rate than 60 BPM. A lower resting heart rate warrants a GP visit if it’s accompanied by symptoms like dizziness, fainting, and fatigue.

Your heart rate can dip as low as 40 BPM when you sleep without any cause for cencern.

A heart rate over 100 BPM is too fast for most of us. See a doctor if you notice palpitations, dizziness, fatigue, or fainting.

How can I measure my resting heart rate?

It takes about 30 seconds to measure your resting heart rate. You just need to make sure you’re really, well, rested when you check it; soon after waking up is a great time to check your resting heart rate.

Put your index and middle fingers on your wrist or neck – anywhere you can feel a pulse.

Don’t use your thumb, because that has its own pulse.

Measure the beats across 30 seconds and then double it to get your beats per minute (BPM).

You should repeat it a few times to make sure your reading is accurate, making sure it’s not within an hour of either drinking caffeine or taking exercise (those elevate your heart rate).

For the most accurate stats, take your resting heart rate multiple times across that week at different times of day.

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