"Everyone made it out to be so easy, but my face felt like it was on fire and there was a horrible smell of burning skin," says Nikita Morgan, as she describes her eyelid surgery.
She decided to get a blepharoplasty, or a "bleph", removing skin from just above the eyes - after seeing videos about it on social media. Even though she was given a local anaesthetic, Nikita felt extreme pain.
Oculoplastic surgeons - doctors specialising in surgery around the eyes - say a concerning number of patients are reporting problems from cheap bleph surgery, typically carried out abroad.
They have told the BBC the demand for this procedure, which normally costs thousands of pounds in the UK, has increased as part of a wider aesthetic trend to tighten, smooth and lift the face.
Surgeons say complications have been linked to clinics across mainland Europe, Africa and Asia, and, when they occur, the lack of aftercare puts a burden on the NHS.
UK surgeons have also told us they have seen patients unable to close their eyes properly after treatment abroad.
Source: BBC News, 23 September 2026
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