By Mariam Isimdar and Helen Burchell BBC News, Norfolk
September 12, 2023
Image credit Natasha Kerr
image captionMelissa Kerr died in 2019 while undergoing cosmetic surgery in a Turkish hospital
A woman who died during hip surgery in Turkey was not given enough information to judge whether the procedure was safe, a coroner has said.
Melissa Kerr, 31, from Gorleston, Norfolk, died in 2019 at the private Medicana Kadikoy Hospital in Istanbul.
Coroner Jacqueline Lake said she would write a report to the health secretary to prevent further deaths from the “dangerous” procedure.
The hospital disputed the “claim” that “the information was insufficient.”
The Norwich inquest heard that Mr Kerr had gone abroad to undergo a procedure commonly known as a Brazilian butt lift (BBL).
Image credit Natasha Kerr
Image Caption: Melissa Kerr’s family hopes others avoid ‘beauty tourism’
In a statement, Carr’s family said they were devastated.
“We hope that in the future you will take due consideration before traveling to Turkey for cosmetic tourism purposes,” they said in a prepared statement.
An inquest in Norwich was told Ms Kerr, a psychological health practitioner with mental health charity Mind, was “self-conscious” about her appearance.
An inquest was told that Brazilian butt lift surgery is the riskiest of all cosmetic surgery procedures.
The UK has agreed to suspend the practice of such procedures because of the risks associated with them, expert witness and plastic surgeon Simon Withey said in the inquest report.
Mr Withey said that if Mr Kerr had been informed of the risks of the procedure before financially undergoing it, she “probably” would not have had the procedure.
On November 19, 2019, the day after arriving in Turkey and paying £3,200 in cash, she underwent a “limited” pre-operative assessment before surgery.
According to the autopsy report, the surgery was performed by Dr Yakup Duman, a cosmetic and reconstructive surgeon who was also the visiting physician.
Fat was harvested from her chin, thighs, and abdomen using a liposuction process and inserted into her buttocks.
It was during the reinjection of fat deep into the muscle tissue of Kerr’s buttock that he suffered a fatal blood clot that traveled to his lungs.
The inquest was told that if the substance was injected too deeply into muscle tissue, there was a risk of it migrating to other areas of the body.
According to Turkish hospital documents, Kerr had been in the theater for more than three hours when resuscitation measures were taken. She died shortly thereafter.
Image credit Natasha Kerr
Image caption: Following the death of Melissa Carr, a report on preventing future deaths will be sent to the Health Minister, who is seeking to issue a warning to people travelling to Turkey for plastic surgery.
Her UK GP said Ms Kerr had no known health conditions and had breast implants 10 years ago without any problems.
The coroner recorded the conclusion of the story, saying Mr Kerr died after undergoing cosmetic surgery.
She recorded the cause of death as pulmonary thromboembolism and fat thromboembolism. Clogged blood vessels in the lungs.
“I am concerned that patients are not made aware of the risks and mortality associated with such operations,” Mr Lake said, referring to the report to the Secretary of State.
She added that while the UK government had no control over what was happening in other countries, “the risk to our citizens who continue to travel abroad for such procedures continues…and I hope we can do better in the future.” “We believe that this can prevent many deaths,” he added. information”.
A spokesperson for Medicana said: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of Mr Kerr in 2019 due to complications during a surgery at one of our hospitals in Turkey.
“We completely reject the claim that Mr Carr was provided with insufficient information to make an informed decision about the surgery he traveled to Turkey for.
“After a thorough preliminary examination, Ms. Kerr signed multiple consent forms confirming that she understood the risks, including the rare complications that led to her death.
“Medicana is committed to providing the highest standards of clinical care and patient safety. Our processes are continually reviewed and reviewed as necessary to protect the reputation and integrity of Turkish healthcare. We will continue to work with Turkish health authorities to make the necessary changes.”
