British authorities are due to meet with their Turkish counterparts after a British woman died during a so-called Brazilian butt lift procedure at a private hospital in Istanbul.
Melissa Carr, 31, from Gorleston, Norfolk, went to the private Medicana Husnedar Hospital in 2019 for buttock augmentation surgery.
She died in hospital on the same day she underwent surgery to have fat taken from other parts of her body injected into her buttocks.
An inquest into her death, held in Norwich earlier this year, heard Ms Kerr, who was concerned about her appearance, had been given “limited information about the risks and mortality” associated with the operation.
Norfolk’s senior coroner, Jacqueline Lake, has written to the health minister to express concerns about people travelling overseas for cosmetic surgery.
In a written response to Mr Lake, Health Secretary Maria Caulfield confirmed that British officials would visit Turkey and meet with their international counterparts.
“The aim is to discuss the regulatory framework and protections in place for UK nationals and to identify specific areas where UK and Turkish authorities should work together to reduce risks to patients in future,” Caulfield said in the letter, first reported by the BBC.
“Specifically, I noticed in your report a lack of standard pre-assessment questions provided to Mr. Carr in Turkey.
“We are aware that countries that supply healthcare tourism frequently carry out pre-assessment checks that do not meet UK regulatory standards and we would like to encourage all healthcare providers treating UK nationals to meet international best practice for pre-operative procedures wherever possible.”
“Such transparency and standardisation is important to reduce potential risks to patients and improve patient care in the UK and overseas.”
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“It is particularly important that anyone considering a Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) procedure is fully aware of the risks involved and take the time to think carefully about their decision before undergoing surgery.
“As the report states, there are high risks associated with this procedure. The risk of death from BBL is more than 10 times higher than most other cosmetic procedures, and it has the highest mortality rate of all cosmetic procedures.”
Lake concluded that Mr Carr died because the injected fat entered his veins, travelled and blocked a pulmonary artery, and the cause of death was recorded as pulmonary embolism.
The Turkish Ministry of Health has been contacted for comment.
