Brit woman, 38, dies following £7k Brazilian bum-lift in Turkey after surgeon ‘walks out halfway through’
A BRIT woman died following a Brazilian bum-lift in Turkey after the surgeon walked out halfway through the op, an inquest heard.
Hayley Dowell, 38, had a £7,000 for a series of operations – including the BBL, a tummy tuck and liposuction.
But she died just hours later after suffering an embolism while recovering at the BHT Clinic in Istanbul.
Her husband Neil Dowell, who had flown to Turkey with his wife, told an inquest she had not been properly informed of the risks.
Neil also claimed he was asked to sign a consent form after Hayley, from Eastleigh, Hampshire, had died on October 3 last year.
He told Winchester Coroner’s Court: “It should have been a six hour operation but it wound down to one hour 45 [minutes].
“The surgeon left halfway through the operation and left the anaesthetist to do the job. You can’t do both at the same time.”
Neil said the surgeon was advertised as one of the “top five in Turkey”.
He added: “There was not any risk outlined to her.”
Hayley’s mum Ann told the inquest her daughter would not have known the risks” of one of the operations because she didn’t consent to all three of them.
Coroner Nicholas Walker said he will be conducting a full investigation into the information Hayley received and the circumstances of her death.
He also suggested he would be writing a Prevention of Future Deaths report to help stop future tragedies occurring.
The coroner adjourned the hearing ahead of full inquest due to take place in January.
Hayley’s death is the latest in a series of tragedies to hit Brits who go under the knife.
In August, Kaydell Brown, 38 died after paying £5,400 for the procedure, as well as a tummy tuck and a boob job.
While mum Alice Webb died in September after allegedly undergoing the surgery in the UK.
What are Brazilian Bum Lifts and why are they so popular?
Buttock enlargement surgery – known as a Brazilian bum-lift (BBL) – is used to make the bum look bigger, rounded and lifted.
Surgeons transfer fat, inject filler 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 are travelling to the likes of Turkey or seeking out unregistered surgeons in the UK and are not given full information on the risks.
BBLs carry the highest risk of all cosmetic surgeries – with more than one death occurring per 4,000 procedures.
Due to celebrities undergoing such ops, many women are hoping to emulate their looks.
Consultant clinical psychologist Dr Anu Sayal-Bennett, a chartered member of the British Psychological Society, told the BBC: “Despite there being so much about body positivity, there are pressures for women – and men too – to look a certain way.”
Many people travel abroad for the procedure because it is cheaper and advertising is “terribly seductive”, combined with the idea of a beach holiday, added Dr Sayal-Bennett.
Brazilian butt-lifts, also known as buttock augmentation procedures, involve injecting fat or filler into the bum to shape it.
But wrongly injecting too deep into the buttock can pump chemicals into the bloodstream and cause deadly clots, infections or sepsis.
They can also go wrong if the anaesthetic is botched or people have an allergic reaction.
The Foreign Office says 28 Brits have died after having cosmetic surgery in Turkey since 2019.