Cosmetic surgery scar left Leeds woman 'upset and annoyed'

Banw Salih, 31, of Burley, is urging people considering cosmetic surgery to be fully aware of potential complications before signing up.

She paid £350 to have a scar on her right elbow removed at a clinic in London on the same day she had an initial face to face consultation.

Miss Salih said she didn't sign a consent form and no risks were mentioned.

Miss Salih who was left with the small scar following a fall as a child, underwent surgery under local anaesthetic followed by 10 stitches in the wound in March 2017.

She suffered pain in her arm for around two months and occasional bleeding and has been left with a scar around 40mm long and 16mm wide.

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

Lawyers acting on behalf of Dr Sadri, who does not hold any surgical speciality on the General Medical Council register, admitted liability.

After sending photos to Dr Sadri of her scar, Miss Salih was invited to a follow-up consultation in June 2017.

She was offered free of charge revision surgery and was asked to sign a consent form outlining the risks.

Miss Salih refused to sign she hadn’t been presented with a consent form during the first procedure, but underwent surgery.

Irwin Mitchell argued a number of failings in Miss Salih's care, including that there was a substandard and negligent failure to obtain adequate consent and no explanation of risks.

Miss Salih said: “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.”

Kathryn Salt, the legal expert at Irwin Mitchell, representing Banw, said: “This is a very worrying case in which we believe Banw’s care did not meet expected professional standards.

“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."

A spokeswoman for Kennedys Law, representing Dr Maziar Sadri, said: "While this claim is still subject to settlement we will not be making any further comment on the matter."