NHS waiting times driving patients to seek weight-loss help in Turkey, says surgeon

There is no evidence that gastric botulinum toxin injections are effective, says a leading London surgeon. Photograph: Medicshots/Alamy

Desperate patients are seeking risky weight-loss treatments in Turkey because of unacceptable NHS waiting times, a surgeon has said.

Ahmed Ahmed, a consultant bariatric surgeon at Imperial College healthcare trust and the treasurer of the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society, said there had been a notable increase in patients presenting with complications after undergoing surgery abroad.