Barrow woman left with unsightly lump on her face following botched cosmetic procedure by family GP

Adrienne Townsend, of Barrow Island, was left with a pea sized bump on the left side of her face after paying Dr Chetandra Javeria £425 to undertake the work.

In an exclusive interview with The Mail, the distressed 29-year-old claims she was forced to shell out more money for corrective treatment when Dr Javeria, who runs The Family Practice in Hartington Street, refused to refund the fee.

Instead, the doctor, who carried out the private procedure at his NHS doctors' surgery during working hours, later offered to pay back the money as long as Miss Townsend signed a secrecy contract to keep the whole ordeal secret, she says.

Miss Townsend, who was left bruised and swollen following the initial procedure, said: "I had done plenty of research on it beforehand.

"I'd watched videos of it on YouTube so I knew what was involved.

"Dr Javeria was my family GP so I trusted him and he said he'd done it before.

"But it took a long time and was very painful, he couldn't get the right angle and I was left with a lot of bruising under my eye.

"I wasn't happy - my face was uneven and when the bruising went I was left with a pea-sized lump under the skin which I was really self-conscious about."

Miss Townsend booked a GP appointment with Dr Javeria last year to discuss the removal of a mole.

She alleges that during this appointment, the doctor said the NHS would not carry out the procedure before handing her a leaflet for his private cosmetic surgery clinic; Radiant Me Ltd.

A Facebook page for the business, which gives an address for Duke Street in Barrow, describes itself as offering a range of treatments carried out by 'special aesthetic doctors'.

Initially, Miss Townsend paid for some lip filler treatments before asking about the tear trough procedure in February.

However, she said all appointments and treatments were carried out at The Family Practice, run by the GP and his wife; Dr Reeta Karamchandani.

Miss Townsend, who said she was not given a formal consultation before going ahead with the procedure, added: "At the GP appointment he said the NHS was reactive, not pro-active, so he wouldn't be able to do the mole removal.

"Then he held up a leaflet about his private work.

"When I said I wasn't happy, he asked me to meet him at the surgery to look at my eyes, but he didn't turn up.

"When I asked him for my money back he said he didn't do refunds and he would do another procedure instead.

"I didn't want him to do anything else to my face. He asked me to go to the surgery to discuss it and that's when he asked me to sign the agreement not to tell anyone or go to the press.

"It's been awful."

Tear trough fillers involve placing a canula under the skin beneath the eyes to 'fill out' dark circles or tired looking eyes.

It is one of a range of procedures Dr Javeria claims to offer through his Radiant Me business.

Though GPs can carry out private work, guidelines state they must not approach their own NHS patients about it or advertise their services during normal appointments.

A spokesman for Morecambe Bay Clinical Commissioning Group - the organisation that buys services from GPs on behalf of residents across the area - said: "We are not aware of any individual complaint of this nature being brought to our attention.

"Any patient can contact us if they have a concern. Details of how to report a concern can be found on the Morecambe Bay CCG website.

"Speaking generally, there are ethical guides for clinicians available from the British Medical Association and the General Medical Council.

"Guidance from the BMA says, for example, that 'increasing numbers of GPs are able to provide specialist treatments, such as complementary therapies or minor surgery in addition to their general practice.

"These treatments may be offered to private patients and advertised in the usual way but GPs may not charge patients of their NHS practice for these services."

Dr Javeria did not comment on the matter despite a series of requests.

What are tear trough fillers?

The cosmetic procedure involves injecting filler into the space between the eye and cheek. It aims to refresh tired looking eyes and fill out dark circles.

Who can carry out cosmetic procedures involving fillers and botox?

There is no legislation in the UK to prevent non-medical professionals from carrying out dermal filler procedures.

However, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons is campaigning to ensure only specially trained, medical professionals are able to provide these treatments in the future.