BBL surgery: Woman who died in Turkey 'not told of risks'
A woman who died during an operation for a buttock enlargement in Turkey was not given enough information to make a safe decision about the procedure, a coroner has concluded.
Melissa Kerr, 31, from Gorleston, Norfolk, died at the private Medicana Haznedar Hospital in Istanbul, in 2019.
Ms Kerr had gone abroad to have what is commonly referred to as a Brazilian butt-lift or BBL, the Norwich inquest heard.
The inquest was told Brazilian butt-lift operations carried the highest risk of all cosmetic surgery procedures.
The UK has an agreed moratorium on carrying out such operations due to the dangers involved, expert witness and plastic surgeon Simon Withey said in a report for the inquest.
Mr Withey said if the risk of the procedure had been explained to Ms Kerr before she had financially committed to the procedure she would not "in all probability" have gone through with it.
Coroner Jaqueline Lake said she would be writing a report for the health secretary to try and prevent further deaths from this "risky" procedure. She said she was "concerned patients are not being made aware of the risks or the mortality rate associated with such surgery".
She added, while the UK government had no control over what happens in other countries, "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".
Source: BBC News, 12 September 2023