Cleft lip filler 'boosts confidence' - but expert warns of exploitation risk

Two young women who have turned to dermal fillers after having cleft lip surgery say it has given them confidence after they were both left with scarring.

"Now I feel like I can just go out and talk to anyone, be more social and just be confident," Amber Dorgan, 20, from Neath, said of the treatment, which is offered by the NHS as well as by aesthetic clinics.

But experts and clinics have called for regulations to be introduced for aesthetic practitioners providing the service.

It comes as one psychology academic warned people with a cleft lip were being "deliberately targeted" by the aesthetics industry and "left vulnerable to potential harm and exploitation".

Aesthetics treatment for people with scars involves using filler to reduce their appearance, restore symmetry, and add volume after cleft lip surgery.

Dorgan was born with a cleft lip and has faced hearing difficulties, speech difficulties and bullying at school because of her scars.

She had five operations as a child, as well as regular hospital appointments for speech and language therapy.

Now she receives free dermal filler for life through The Welsh Centre for Cleft Lip and Palate based in Morriston Hospital in Swansea, something she feels extremely fortunate to have.

Kaynak: BBC News Health RSS (Açık Basın / Haber Servisi)