Mum, 26, died after ‘barbaric’ Brazilian butt lift surgery ‘she didn’t properly consent to’ in Turkey
A MUM-of-three who died days after undergoing a "Brazilian butt lift" surgery did not consent to the procedure, an inquest heard.
Demi Agoglia, 26, died in Turkey after a "barbaric" operation contributed to by neglect with "no proper pre-operative care and advice", a coroner warned.
Demi travelled to Turkey for the operation after seeing celebrity endorsements for Istanbul-based Comfort Zone Surgery on social media.
Coroner John Pollard found there was "no proper informed consent" and no proper pre- or post-op care.
He added: "Something further needs to be done to stop this frankly barbaric medical practice being conducted to such low standards.
"They would certainly not be tolerated in the UK."
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Demi learned about the procedure from influencer ads on social media which did not highlight the dangers of BBLs.
The mother of three was said to be “conscious about the way she looked” and was insistent on undergoing the procedure, which sees fat taken from elsewhere on the body and injected into the hips and buttocks.
Immediately after the operation she was “shaking” and appeared “very, very cold”, he told Bolton coroner’s court.
Staff from Comfort Zone were called to the villa where she was staying after Demi complained of a tight chest.
They checked her blood pressure, but did not inspect the area of the operation or check her heart rate and pulse, the inquest heard.
Demi then collapsed at the villa and was taken back to a hospital in Istanbul where she died on 8 January, three days after the operation.
The Bolton coroner, John Pollard, ruled that the medical cause of death was a microscopic fat embolism in which tissue leaks into the bloodstream.
Concluding that Demi had died as a result of misadventure contributed to by neglect.
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.
Mr Pollard said: "Most inquests are sad by their very nature. This inquest is especially so as it involved the death of a young woman with considerable mental health issues who, despite the fact she was pretty and her partner did not think she needed any improvement, insisted on having a BBL surgery.
"I found that she went to Turkey presumably because the process was quicker and cheaper than the UK. We know little or nothing of the perioperative situation because the Turkish authorities refused to cooperate with the coronial process.
"I do find the post-operative care varied from woeful to completely non-existent. When she showed obvious symptoms of serious illness it was not immediately recognised by her partner, understandably, or the unqualified members of staff.
"By the time she got to the hospital, it was frankly too late, and she was in an irrecoverable state. I think it was indicative of the poor level of care that at all times she was transported not in an ambulance but in a taxi, it was always the same taxi.
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"I heard extremely helpful evidence from Dr Tillo who clearly spelt out all the failures and failings he was able to assess from the evidence and the sparse documentation available to him."
No record of any intensive care unit admission or any tests and scans carried out had been produced, the inquest was told.