Britain faces botched BBL crisis - mum Alice may be UK’s 1st victim but her death is tip of a grim iceberg, expert says

Butt lifts in BRAZIL are a crisis waiting to happen – tragic mum Alice Webb may be the UK’s first victim, but her death is the tip of a very scary iceberg, the Sun can reveal.

The mother-of-five, 33, was having a cosmetic treatment at a studio in Gloucester on Monday night when it “went wrong” and she died in hospital the following day.

Alice Webb was the mother of five children Credit: Facebook

Bonnie Cooper contracted sepsis after undergoing a butt lift at a UK clinicCredit: Submitted

Bonnie’s before and after photos Credit: Supplied

Bonnie was left in intensive care after a botched operation

Police later confirmed that two people had been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over the horror.

In the past few years, at least 28 Britons have died abroad – seven in Turkey – after complications from BBL.

But there are many more who have undergone the procedure in Britain with disastrous consequences.

Plastic surgery campaign group Save Face said in a report that 479 patients had complained to them about botched BBLs and hip dips – carried out by unhealthy cowboys – since 2022.

‘DEVASTATED’

Ashton Collins, director of Save Face, told The Sun: “I was devastated to hear of Alice’s tragic death.

“We launched a campaign in December 2023 calling on the Government to take urgent measures to ban these practices.

“We made it absolutely clear that without immediate intervention someone would die.”

He said the news of Alice’s death made him “incredibly sad and angry”, adding: “Our fear has been confirmed and the family is devastated.”

Mr Collins went on to say that ongoing BBL procedures – in which filler is injected into the bum – were “a crisis waiting to happen”.

“They are touted on social media as ‘risk-free’, ‘cheaper’ alternatives to the surgical counterpart and that couldn’t be further from the truth.

What are Brazilian Bum Lifts and why are they so popular?

Buttock augmentation surgery – known as a Brazilian butt lift (BBL) – is used to make the buttocks appear larger, rounder and lifted.

Surgeons transfer fat, inject fillers or insert silicone-filled implants.

It is the fastest growing cosmetic procedure, but also one of the most dangerous, according to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS).

Many patients travel to Turkey or seek unregistered surgeons in the UK and are not fully informed about the risks.

BBLs carry the highest risk of all cosmetic surgeries – with more than one death per 4,000 procedures.

Because of celebrities who undergo such surgeries, many women hope to imitate their appearance.

Consultant clinical psychologist Dr Anu Sayal-Bennett, a Chartered Fellow of the British Psychological Society, told the BBC: “Despite so much talk about body positivity, there are pressures on women – and men – to look a certain way.”

Many people travel abroad for the procedure because it is cheaper and the advertising is “horribly seductive”, combined with the idea of a beach holiday, Dr Sayal-Bennett added.

“We have supported more than 500 women who have suffered complications from these treatments, many of whom have almost died.

“More than 50% of cases reported to us developed sepsis, and 39% required corrective surgery.”

Mr Collins said all the procedures reported to the group were carried out by “non-medical practitioners” and were “incredibly dangerous” practices in “non-sterile” environments.

“They failed to identify and address the complications they inflicted on their clients, often misdiagnosing abscesses and tissue necrosis as bruises.

“I am appalled and appalled at the unscrupulous nature of people who are still offering these treatments even though they know some of their patients have been hospitalized and will no doubt continue to do so after hearing this awful news.”

He added that it was “outrageous” that unqualified people saw fit to offer treatments that “surgeons won’t perform because they are too dangerous”.

We will not stop the campaign until these actions are banned, and those who harm people are held criminally accountable.

ALICE’S LAST HOURS

The night before Alice’s surgery, the mom posted a photo of a small pumpkin on Facebook – her daughter’s pre-surgery “gift”.

The following evening, officers rushed to the studio – at a residential address – at around 11.30pm after the alarm was raised and emergency vehicles were already at the scene.

Alice was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Infirmary but died a short time later in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

‘More must be done to stop fake injectors’

By Lizzie Parry, Head of Health

It may sound less invasive, but just because liquid BBLs are ‘non-surgical’ they are no less dangerous.

Every medical procedure carries risks.

But when these procedures are performed by any Tom, Dick or Harry without any medical qualifications, the risks skyrocket.

Campaign group Save Face has warned of an “alarming increase” in the number of patients complaining of serious complications from ongoing BBLs and cramps.

The list of unpleasant complications is long, sepsis, infections and abscesses that require hospitalization and often surgical interventions.

These procedures, often advertised on social media as a ‘risk-free and cheaper alternative’ to surgery, can be deadly.

In every single case of complications reported to Save Face, the ‘practitioner’ had no medical qualifications, not one. It’s terrifying.

These unscrupulous fraudsters, who charge an average of around £2,000, put people’s lives at risk while raking in the profits.

Equally alarming is the fact that most qualified doctors say they do not offer non-surgical BBL because they are unsafe and carry a high risk of complications.

If doctors and nurses are not comfortable doing ongoing BBL, that should be reason enough to ban them.

Save Face is calling on the government to crack down and ban these practices, warning that more people will die if nothing is done.

It is a crisis waiting to happen and more must be done to ensure that people seeking aesthetic treatments are safe and have access to the best possible care.

Her devastated partner Dane Knight, 38, posted a tribute online saying: “I want to thank all my family and friends from the bottom of my heart for being there for us in our time of need, including all the kind messages sent to my children and myself.

“There were some very nice messages sent by some of your children that brought a smile to the corner of my children’s lips.”

Alice, who has five daughters aged between seven and 15, has also been involved in the beauty treatment industry as an advanced aesthetic practitioner.

‘DANGEROUSLY’

A cosmetic surgeon said he would “never touch a BBL procedure with a stick” in reaction to Alice’s death.

dr. Kasim Usmani, 32, runs his own clinic in central London and performs procedures such as salmon sperm injections and non-surgical nose jobs.

But he says BBL surgery is not a safe procedure and should be avoided at all costs.

He also explained how the procedure is carried out – and said it was “inevitable” that a death from the procedure would occur in the UK.

Kasim said: “It’s so unfortunate that this has happened and it’s because of a lack of regulation.

“I would never touch this procedure with a barge pole.

It is devastating that a mother of five lost her life because of this dangerous procedure.

As well as the procedure itself being dangerous, Kasim says an additional danger comes from the lack of regulation of cosmetic procedures in the UK.

“It was inevitable that someone would die from this,” he added.

“We always knew that people would get hurt if things were unregulated and that’s exactly what happened.

– We have been saying this for years.

Brits who died from Brazilian butt lifts abroad

More Britons have died after undergoing a Brazilian butt lift abroad.

Here are those previously highlighted by The Sun:

Demi Agoglia (26) died a few days after returning home to Manchester after undergoing the procedure in Turkey.

Family members said that after the procedure in Istanbul, she returned to the clinic for a check-up, but then fell ill.

She was urgently transferred to intensive care, but the doctors were unable to save her and she was pronounced dead on January 8 of this year.

Kaydell Brown, 38, paid £5,400 for the BBL procedure as well as a tummy tuck and breast surgery in the hope of turning her life around.

But the mother-of-two from Sheffield tragically died in the recovery room following complications from surgery in Istanbul, Turkey.

Leah Cambridge, from Leeds, West Yorks, collapsed shortly after winning a £3,000 BBL at a Turkish clinic popular with Towie stars including Lauren Goodger.

The 29-year-old is said to have arranged the surgery through a company that acts as an intermediary between clients and surgeons.

Wakefield Coroner’s Court was told she traveled to Izmir for a “butt lift” in August last year but died after complications from the procedure.

Melissa Kerr, 31, traveled from Norfolk to Istanbul to undergo the £3,200 procedure at Medicana Kadikoy Hospital.

Melissa was killed when injected fat entered a vein and blocked her pulmonary artery causing an embolism.

The young British woman was given only “limited information about the risks and mortality rate” associated with the operation, her inquest heard.

Abimbola Ajoke Bamgbose, a 38-year-old social worker from Dartford, Kent, died in August 2020 after purchasing a £5,000 overseas package from Mono Cosmetic Surgery.

Her husband, Moyosore Olowo, told the inquest hearing that his wife underwent liposuction and a buttock lift because she was fed up with people asking her if she was pregnant.