Plastic surgeons warn against ‘death sentence’ liquid BBL procedures – after British woman dies

Experts have today issued fresh warnings over non-surgical butt lifts following the death of a mother-of-five. 

Alice Webb, 34, died on Monday just hours after having the procedure, understood to have been performed in the West Country. 

The practitioner alleged to have carried out the treatment — whose identity is known to MailOnline — has been arrested. 

One of Britain’s leading plastic surgeons has told this website the individual is believed to have had a ‘large volume of filler’ injected into her buttocks. 

While the risks of a traditional Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) are well known — surgery to transfer fat from other areas to the buttocks — a non-surgical methods that aim to create the same result are less understood. 

So what is a non-surgical BBL, or liquid BBL? How safe really is the procedure? And why is it becoming increasingly popular?  

Alice Webb (pictured), 34, died on Monday just hours after having the surgery, which is believed to have been performed in the West Country

Dane Knight (left) has been left devastated by the death of his partner Alice Webb (right) after she died from a Brazilian Bum Lift procedure in the UK

What is a liquid Brazilian butt lift?

BBLs are used to make buttocks bigger, more rounded or lifted.

Unlike a traditional BBL which sees fat transferred from other areas of the body, a liquid BBL involves hyaluronic acid fillers. 

Dermal filler — the same material used to fill lips — is injected in large quantities into the buttock. 

They are often advertised on social media as a ‘risk-free’, ‘cheaper’ alternative to the surgical counterpart. 

Is the procedure banned in the UK?

Non-surgical BBLs are not illegal in the UK.

The popularity of non-surgical BBLs has increased significantly but there is no standard licensing scheme in England for businesses offering the procedure.

Last year, however, Wolverhampton City Council barred a company from carrying out liquid BBLs after identifying risks associated with their processes.

These included blood clots, sepsis, and the potential for the death of body tissues.

Five local authorities in Essex and Glasgow followed suit and have banned certain companies from carrying out liquid BBLs in their area.

What is a Brazilian butt lift?

It sees fat transferred from other areas of the body, such as the hips or stomach, to give patients a fuller derriere.

Despite the dangers, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) says the op is the fastest-growing type of cosmetic surgery, with its popularity increasing by 20 per cent year-on-year.

It was shunned in the UK because of its risks. 

But in 2022, BAAPS, which creates guidelines for British plastic surgeons, partly reversed its decision on offering the procedure.

Surgeons in the UK are now instead encouraged to do superficial gluteal lipofilling (SGL), which is considered a ‘lite’ form of the procedure.

Alice Webb (pictured), 34, died on Monday just hours after having ‘butt lift’ injections

Fat is first harvested from the hips, lower back, abdomen, thighs and other areas via liposuction . Special equipment is used to prepare it for transfer before it is injected directly into the glutes at specific points, giving the buttocks a bigger, curvier appearance

How is a traditional BBL carried out?  

Fat is first harvested from the hips, lower back, abdomen, thighs and other areas via liposuction.

Special equipment is used to prepare it for transfer before it is injected directly into the glutes at specific points, giving the buttocks a bigger, curvier appearance.

The procedure, sometimes referred to as lipomodelling, usually lasts a couple of hours.  

According to the American Board of Cosmetic Surgeons, it is typical for a portion of the injected fat not to ‘take’ in its new location.

What are the risks of a liquid BBL?

Last month, Save Face revealed it had seen an ‘alarming increase’ in the number of liquid BBL related patient complaints. 

The ‘severity of complications caused by these procedures is alarming’, the body added. 

Unlike with facial fillers where complications can be managed by skilled injectors, these procedures often require hospital settings, intravenous drugs, and surgical intervention to rectify. 

A Save Face survey of more than 2,200 health professionals who practice aesthetic medicine also saw 98 per cent of them say they do not offer liquid BBLs, given there is ‘high risk of multiple complications’. 

The organisation has long called for the Government to ban the procedure. 

Save Face Registrant and Plastic Surgeon Dr Paul Baguley said: ‘There is nothing about the way this treatment is currently offered that is either safe, moral, or ethical. 

‘The only outcome from this procedure is an unquestioningly poor result which comes at great cost to the patient who is drawn in by false advertising into a shockingly dangerous environment with a very real potential of death from complications.’

In March, a mother-of-one also called for a ban on liquid BBLs after a botched procedure left her buttocks with leaking black holes and in pain ‘worse than childbirth’.

Earlier this year Monique Sofroniou (pictured), 30, called for a ban on ‘liquid BBLs’ after a botched procedure left her buttocks with leaking black holes and in pain ‘worse than childbirth’

Pictured: a recent image of Monique’s buttocks more than a year after getting botched bum filler with just scarring left

Monique was rushed to hospital where doctors attempted to remedy the situation (pictured: the mother-of-one after surgery in hospital to repair damage caused by the filler)

Monique Sofroniou, 30, from London, booked an appointment at what she believed was a reputable salon to enlarge her bottom after undergoing a ‘Brazilian Butt Lift’ in 2021.

The aesthetician spent £3,000 on the non-surgical procedure to have one litre of filler injected into each bum cheek.

She was injected with silicone in a hotel room and has since been left with permanent scarring.

She says she woke up the night after the procedure with a temperature, her sides red raw, and she was being violently sick. Doctors sent her to hospital where they told her she had a severe infection.

Why do people want a BBL or liquid BBL? 

Unhappiness over a ‘flat’ buttocks that lack shape, despite a healthy lifestyle, is a common reason listed by those who choose to undergo BBL surgery. 

Experts have also blamed the allure of celebrity culture and choreographed social media images for fuelling the BBL trend. 

Last year, London-based aesthetic surgeon Dr Veerle Rotsaert told MailOnline she discourages patients from getting any BBL and instead recommends they go to the gym and do squats.

She said: ‘In my practice if people want more volume in the buttocks area, I first of all educate them on normal anatomy.

‘I recommend going to the gym to do squats.’

Dr Rotsaert also urged Brits to shy away from BBLs, stating that the ‘Kardashian body type is a trend’.

‘And we all know trends go out of fashion at some stage,’ she added. 

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons analysed 324 cases of Brits needing medical treatment or corrective surgery after having gone under the knife overseas since 2018

Liposuction that offers to remove up to 15 litres of fat, BBL’s, eye colour changing laser treatments and hymenoplasties are all offered in clinics across Turkey

How much does it cost?

On average, a liquid BBL costs around £2,000 in the UK, according to Save Face. 

By comparison, a traditional BBL sets people back around £6,000. But according to the NHS, it could be priced as high as £8,000. 

There may also be additional costs for consultations, aftercare and further treatment sessions, if required for both. 

Adverts for the procedure in Turkey, meanwhile, have been advertised online for as little as $2,750 (£2,190).

What are the risks of a traditional BBL?

Traditional BBLs are one of the most dangerous types of cosmetic surgery available. 

The risk of death is higher than most operations, currently estimated at one in 15,000.   

Surgeons can accidentally inject the fat into the bloodstream —which can cause a potentially deadly blood clot. 

Such a complication is what killed Leah Cambridge, 29, a British mother who died in August 2018 after paying £6,500 to get a BBL in Turkey. 

Generic side effects include bruising, swelling, temporary numbness and scars.

And, like any op, it carries the risk of excessive bleeding and an infection. 

In her response to Ms Kerr’s prevention of future death report, Maria Caulfield, minister for mental health and women’s health strategy, wrote: ‘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, BAAPS has advised its members not to carry out BBL surgery until more is known about safer techniques for the procedure.’

Experts also warn against the pressure tactics employed by cosmetic surgery clinics including time-sensitive deals and booking procedures informally using apps like WhatsApp.  

In a string of WhatsApp messages between Ms Kerr and a hospital worker before she travelled to Turkey, Ms Kerr arranged to pay £3,200 in cash.

She asked four times to see photographs of previous patients but there is no evidence they were provided.

An audit by BAAPS last year also found 324 Brits have needed medical treatment or corrective surgery after having cosmetic surgery overseas, with Turkey accounting for the lion’s share.

This figure has surged 94 per cent in three years, the organisation claimed, as increasing numbers of Brits seek to look more like their celebrity idols. 

BAAPS estimates the average cost to the health service of treating a Brit botched overseas is about £15,000, putting the total bill since 2018 at about £4.8million.

This bill represents the cost of resources like medication and dressings, as well as the time surgeons and other NHS staff must spend on such cases.

While the £15,000 figure is an average, surgeons have previously told this website more serious cases can cost upwards of £100,000 to the taxpayer. 

Save Face, a Government approved register of accredited practitioners, claimed this was the ‘first case of a death caused by a non-surgical BBL in the UK’

Why do people travel abroad for a BBL?

For decades, Brits have been warned against seeking cheaper surgery in places like Turkey, Eastern Europe, or South East Asia.

Turkey is not inherently more dangerous than other surgical tourism hotspots.

But cheap flights between it and the UK — as well as the rise of the trend combining cosmetic surgery with a holiday — have made it one of the leading destinations for Brits looking to go under the knife. 

Nora Nugent, the Vice President of BAAPS told MailOnline: ‘There are many reasons why people travel abroad for cosmetic surgery including BBL — but one of the most common reasons is price. 

‘Overseas surgery can be cheaper than surgery in the UK. Differences in the cost of living, business expenses, cost of ensuring compliance of premises and processes with UK regulations and medical insurance are some of the reasons why it can be more expensive in the UK. 

‘The BAAPS urge people to look at quality and service provided as well as cost though as it is vital to know what is included and not included and to have full information on the procedure and your surgeon and hospital too.’

In Turkey, the BBL and even what are dubbed ‘extreme BBLs’ are promoted. 

In fact, some clinics even underplay the risks linked with the surgery. A MailOnline investigation last year found one clinic claiming that a BBL is ‘completely safe when carried out by a qualified BBL surgeon in Istanbul’. 

Another offered a more extreme BBL — the ‘BBL with Vaser Liposuction’. 

With this procedure, the clinic claims they are able to extract more fat from the body at once and says this results in a slimmer abdomen which makes the hips more noticeable.