Cosmetic surgery has often been referred to as an industry that is a risky one for people to engage with, as there is sometimes a risk that procedures could go wrong and that extra money will need to be spent in order to remedy this problem. This has been highlighted most recently by the PIP implant scandal that has rocked the cosmetic surgery world, but it seems that the British government is starting to react to prevent this issue ever occurring again.

Obviously when an incident as large as the PIP scandal erupts, the government must move to investigate not just why it has happened, but also ways in which they can learn from the lessons that the events have handed out. For this reason, the leader of this investigation – Sir Bruce Keogh – has recommended that an insurance scheme to cover cosmetic surgery patients is implemented. If this kind of scheme was already in place, it would have negated much of the impact that the PIP scandal has had, as consumers would have been covered and cosmetic businesses would not have had to fear for their lives.

It is important to remember here that we shouldn’t place the blame on the cosmetic surgery companies for this recent PIP scandal – the blame for this should squarely rest on the shoulders of the now defunct PIP, who seemingly conned both surgeons and consumers into believing that their breast implants were safe for human use. This means that, while cosmetic surgeons are under increasing pressure to remedy the procedures carried out, they were not privy to the deceit and that they are going to suffer financially from it. So how would this insurance scheme have helped them and the consumer at the same time?

Well, under the proposals laid down by Sir Bruce Keogh, the cosmetic surgery insurance would work in a similar way to that of the insurance offered by the Association of British Travel Agents. Cosmetic surgeons would pay a monthly fee to the organization and, in the event of a problem, the insurance company would pay to get any problems fixed. This would mean that, in the event of a similar scandal to the PIP one, cosmetic surgeons would not lose money and that they would be able to offer corrective surgery to all of their patients in a much quicker amount of time. Therefore, everyone wins!

Currently the only other option for consumers is to start legal proceedings against the surgeries that carried out the breast implants on them. There have been a number of reports of women approaching legal companies to get back the money that they have spent or to force the surgeries to replace their implants with ones containing medical grade silicone. It is still in the balance whether these legal cases will rule in the favour of the women affected by the implants, but if you have been affected then you could be well served by seeking out some kind of legal representation, so that you are prepared should the first cases come back with a positive result.

So, in conclusion, this insurance scheme mooted by the government review into the PIP implants would seem to solve a massive problem that the cosmetic surgery industry faces today. For the moment though, women affected are left in limbo, waiting for legal action to start on the cases that could determine whether they will be able to seek compensation or not as well.