A Turkish hospital is offering Britons free Botox in a bid to entice them to get budget-friendly ‘mummy makeovers’, which campaigners say is a ‘new low’ in preying on women’s insecurities.
Ads linked to the Egemed Hospitals, a cosmetic and weight loss surgery clinic in Söke in western Turkey, have been uploaded to social media to entice British women to go under the knife.
An ad from the clinic, featuring a woman holding a baby, invites women to ‘refresh’ themselves with a £4,200 ‘mummy makeover’.
To make the deal even more attractive, the clinic is also offering a ‘gift’ of three Botox treatments. But it doesn’t mention any of the associated risks of the prescription-only drug.
Spotted on Facebook Marketplace, this advert from Egemed Hospitals offers a ‘mummy makeover’ for £4,200 and offers a gift of three Botox treatments to sweeten the deal
Another ad, this time placed on Facebook, immediately repeats the offer
Botox is a prescription-only drug in the UK, which means it is prohibited from appearing in advertisements or being used in promotional offers to Britons.
Safer cosmetic surgery campaigners told this website that such ads prey on new mothers’ insecurities and that more needs to be done to protect Britons from these kinds of exploitative marketing tactics.
But UK advertising regulators said their hands are tied in many such cases as they cannot act against companies based abroad.
It comes as more research into how Britons are lured into having high-risk cosmetic surgery abroad following the death of a British woman who died during weight-loss surgery in Turkey.
At least 22 Britons are known to have died at the plastic and slimming surgery center since 2019 – during or shortly after procedures there.
Dozens of others have required corrective surgery on their return to the UK, costing taxpayers millions and eating up precious NHS resources.
Turkey has been labeled the ‘butchery capital’ by some campaigners, and operations there cost a fraction of the UK equivalent.
Dawn Knight, of the Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners, a body dedicated to promoting good practice in the cosmetic industry, told MailOnline that the advertisements and offers of free Botox were a ploy to prey on new mothers’ insecurities .
“It’s a psychological trick, it increases the pressure on new moms who are already under so much pressure,” she said.
She added that so-called “mummy makeovers” often required extensive and sometimes risky surgeries at the same time.
“The fact that there are young women in the ads holding young babies implies that you should have this treatment soon after [giving birth]which is just awful and a new low,” she said.
Ms Knight called on the social media giants hosting ads promoting prescription-only drugs to do more against the companies and individuals posting them.
She added that the government should also be more proactive in warning Britons of the dangers of going under the knife for budget operations abroad.
Free Botox is a common feature of many other Egemed Hospitals branded advertisements, including those for weight loss surgeries and Brazilian Butt Lifts.
Other similar advertisements from Egemed Hospitals also talk about how they offer VIP transfers and luxury hotel stays as part of their treatment package in addition to the free Botox.
Botox is a brand name for botulinum toxin injections, which are used to relax the muscles in the face to smooth out lines and wrinkles. In the UK they can cost over £100.
It is a prescription only drug in the UK making it illegal to advertise or be used in promotions.
A spokesman for the Advertising Standards Agency said their remit only covers advertising paid specifically to target UK consumers directly, for example through targeted advertising on social media.
Campaigners have called such marketing tactics a ‘new low’, exploiting the pressures new mothers can experience postpartum
The free Botox offer is repeated for other procedures offered by the hospital, such as the gastric bypass procedure
With a Brazilian Butt Lift, this advertisement also offers a free Botox treatment
While this can include companies based abroad who pay for such advertising, so-called “organic marketing,” unpaid social media posts, is governed by the country in which the company is registered.
The risks of Botox treatments are small when done correctly, but as with any procedure, injecting a drug into the face is not without risks.
People can “freeze” their face if too much venom is injected at one time, parts of their face “droop,” blurry or double vision, and even have difficulty breathing after injections.
Complaints about non-surgical cosmetic procedures, including Botox, recently reached a record high in the UK.
And that was Turkey recently the scene of a botulism scare caused by the injections used in some form of weight loss treatment.
The condition, caused by toxins produced by bacteria that make up the drug, can lead to paralysis if not treated urgently.
A so-called “mummy makeover” is not a specific surgery, but a series of surgeries designed to change parts of the female body, such as the breasts, abdomen, thighs, and genitals that have changed or are believed to have changed after pregnancy and childbirth
UK surgeons are increasingly concerned that the NHS is helping to subsidize poor care abroad, with the bill costing taxpayers an estimated £4.8 million over the past four years
Cosmetic procedures in Turkey are often done at bargain prices compared to their UK counterparts. Turkey and UK prices are from multiple websites (model is a stock photo)
From ‘extreme’ liposuction to so-called ‘virginity repair’ surgery, there are a number of cosmetic procedures that British surgeons shun. But the same high-risk procedures are still being offered abroad, including in Turkey
The Egemed Hospitals version includes breast surgery, a tummy tuck and two areas of liposuction.
Since specific surgeries in each “mummy makeover” are tailored to what a woman specifically requests, price comparisons are difficult. But the more comprehensive packages in the UK can cost upwards of £10,000.
Egemed Hospitals was contacted for comment.
This ‘new low’ comes amid growing concerns about Britons putting themselves at risk by going to ‘budget’ surgery clinics in Turkey.
While operations in Turkey are not inherently more risky, some surgeons in the country will perform procedures that are considered too dangerous or unethical in Britain.
Others will cut back on aftercare, according to campaigners and some surviving patients, which can leave people vulnerable to dangerous complications.
Earlier this month, MailOnline revealed that the family of Carol Keenan, 54, who died following Brazilian Butt Lift surgery in Turkey, is still fighting to get the results of her autopsy, more than 11 months later.
Ms Keenan paid £7,000 to have the buttock augmentation procedure and a tummy tuck at a private hospital in Istanbul.
Shortly before she was taken to the operating room, she also accepted an offer to have abdominal muscle repair surgery for free.
But Ms Keenan from Glenrothes, Fife, collapsed and died before she could have a final check-up and fly home, just six days after her operation.