HSE pays €3.2m for cosmetic surgeries

The HSE has defended paying over €3.2m on cosmetic surgery and weight loss procedures in 2011.

It emerged yesterday that the HSE had paid for a series of procedures, including more than 300 breast augmentations and reductions, liposuction and nose jobs.

The most popular treatment paid for by the HSE in 2011 was breast reduction — 204 were carried out at a cost of €1.3m.

The details, first published in The Star newspaper yesterday, shows the HSE spend on reduction mammoplasty has been steadily climbing since 2007, while the number of procedures described as ‘Application, insertion or removal procedures on breast’ more than doubled to 105 cases in 2011.

In terms of weight loss procedures carried out, there were 39 liposuction and lipectomies in 2011 paid for by the HSE at a cost of almost €280,000. In addition 20 procedures for morbid obesity were carried out at a cost of almost €169,000, the lowest such figure in the past five years and covering procedures such as revision of gastric band and insertion of gastric bubble.

Five other weight loss procedures were paid for by the HSE last year at a total cost of just over €34,000.

Repair of ear procedures took place in 186 cases at a total cost of €401,425 and 104 rhinoplasties — nose jobs — cost €337,005.

Outlining how the costs were accrued the HSE said: “The HSE provides and sometimes funds surgery aimed at correcting disfigurement or restoring function lost as a result of accidents, birth defects, or treatment of disease and in some cases due to serious psychological stress caused by such a condition which would be diagnosed by a consultant plastic surgeon.

“The HSE will only undertake cosmetic surgery where a consultation surgeon is satisfied that a valid clinical reason exists to proceed with the surgery for therapeutic purposes.”