Warning Issued After UK Woman's Death Following Brazilian Butt Lift Surgery In Turkey

A coroner in the UK will write to the Health Secretary over risks associated with having cosmetic surgeries abroad after a British woman died following a buttock enlargement surgery in Turkey. Notably, Melissa Kerr died at the Medicana Kadikoy Hospital in Istanbul last year on November 19, Sky News reported. The 31-year-old died on the day she had the Brazilian butt lift procedure.

An investigation into her death also revealed that she was given ''limited information regarding the risks and mortality rate'' of the surgery, as per Metro.

During this surgery, fat is harvested from other parts of the body and injected into the buttocks. In the case of Ms Kerr, the injected fat entered a vein before moving and blocking her pulmonary artery. Norfolk's senior coroner Jackeline Lake said her cause of death was a pulmonary thromboembolism.

Ms Lake said she would be writing a report for the health secretary to try and prevent further deaths from this ''risky'' procedure.

Talking about the case, Ms. Lake said, ''Ms. Kerr wasn't seen by a surgeon or clinician prior to the date of the procedure and underwent a limited assessment prior to the procedures. There has been the release of an international alert to surgeons regarding the high mortality rate associated with this procedure. There has also been the introduction of a voluntary moratorium on this type of procedure in the UK.”

She added, ''These are clearly not being followed in Turkey. I'm concerned patients are not being made aware of the risks or the mortality rate associated with such surgery. I do have concerns there will be future deaths and I'm of the view future deaths can be prevented by way of better information.''

A plastic surgeon Simon Withey, who was asked to prepare a report for Ms Kerr's inquest said the death rate associated with Brazilian butt lifts is ''likely to be in excess of one in 4,000''. He added it is ''quite possible'' that, if the risk of the procedure had been explained to Ms. Kerr ''before she was financially committed to proceed, she would not have done''.

A few WhatsApp messages between Melissa and a hospital worker in Tukey have also been released. in one of her messages, she said that she felt ''a bit nervous'', and also asked for pictures of previous patients which she was not provided. 

Notably, Ms Kerr also had breast enlargement surgery a decade earlier without complications.