THE UK Government has said it will meet with Turkish officials after a British woman died during a Brazilian bum lift (BBL) operation in Turkey.
Melissa Kerr, 31, had travelled from Norfolk to Istanbul to undergo the £3,200 procedure at Medicana Kadikoy hospital.
The operation involves taking fat from areas like the stomach and back, and transferring it into the bum.
Melissa was killed when the injected fat entered a vein and blocked her pulmonary artery causing an embolism.
In September, an inquest heard Norfolk’s senior coroner, Jacqueline Lake, voice her concerns.
She said that the young Brit was only given “limited information regarding the risks and mortality rate” associated with the op.
And added: “I am concerned that patients travelling to Turkey for this procedure are not being made aware of the risks and the high mortality rate associated with this surgery.
“The danger to citizens who continue to travel abroad for such procedures continues… and I’m of the view future deaths can be prevented by way of better information.”
Lake’s concerns were addressed to the health secretary at the time, Steve Barclay, and she has now received a response from the minister for mental health and women’s health strategy, Maria Caulfield.
Caulfield has offered her “heartfelt condolences” to Melissa’s family.
She also said: “My officials will… be visiting Turkey shortly to meet with their counterparts.
“The intention is to discuss the regulatory framework, and the protections that are in place for UK nationals, and to identify concrete areas where the UK and Turkish authorities should work together to reduce the risks to patients in the future.
“It is particularly important that those considering having the ‘Brazilian Butt Lift’ (BBL) procedure are made fully aware of the risks and have time to reflect fully on their decision ahead of surgery.
“As you note in the report, the risks associated with this procedure are high.
“The risk of death for BBL surgery is at least 10 times higher than many other cosmetic procedures, and it has the highest death rate of all cosmetic procedures.
“As you note, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) has advised its members not to carry out Brazilian butt lift surgery until more is known about safer techniques for the procedure.
“The Government is considering how we can most effectively communicate with those considering medical treatment abroad, to ensure people are better informed about the risks ahead of surgery and understand the need to ensure appropriate aftercare, including considering when it may be safe to travel home.”
Norfolk Coroner’s Court heard that Melissa had sent several WhatsApp messages to a hospital worker before she travelled for the procedure.
In these, she had asked four times to be sent photos of previous patients but, allegedly, she never received them.
Melissa had a breast enlargement operation ten years prior without any complications, but died on the day she had her BBL.
Plastic surgeon Simon Withey told the inquest the death rate associated with BBL’s are “likely to be in excess of one in 4,000”.
The death rate is at least ten times higher than most other cosmetic procedures.
Last year, a British grandmother died in Turkey after having three cosmetic procedures at a clinic in Istanbul.
Carol Keenan, 53, paid £7,000 for a BBL and a tummy tuck, and was then offered a third procedure for free – stomach muscle repair, purportedly to give her more definition.
She went under the knife for six hours, and suddenly collapsed outside her hotel six days after her procedures.
Carol went into cardiac arrest on her way to the hospital, and tragically died soon after.
Just a month earlier, Sophie Hunt, 34, also passed away just after her weight loss surgery in Turkey.
The mum of two was said to have flown to Turkey to have a tummy tuck and liposuction, but that she “went silent” after the surgery.
Sophie went into cardiac arrest, and passed away just two days after.
