Brazilian butt lift patient dies after major surgery when doctor made 'grave error'

A woman who underwent Brazilian butt lift surgery in the United States died after her doctor punctured several of her organs. The 38-year-old went under the knife in Florida but died of injuries inflicted during the procedure, a legal hearing was told.

The operation, a type of cosmetic surgery that involves removing fat from other parts of the body and injecting it into the buttocks, has grown in popularity in the UK with women who was to enhance the shape of their bums.

A complaint against the doctor — identified as Christopher A.R. Walker from Orlando — has resulted in him being stripped of his licence to practice. The operation which took place in February 2021, involved liposuction of the patient’s abdomen and back, with the fat being transferred to her “gluteal region”.

The complaint claims that Walker “repeatedly crossed” through the patient’s abdominal muscles during the procedure, and punctured several of her organs and arteries. As a result, the patient suffered serious internal bleeding, and she died from her injuries later that evening, a US news source reports.

“(Walker) knew or had reason to know that he was not competent to perform liposuction due to his lack of education, training, and/or experience,” the complaint reads. It turns out that while Walker was a medical doctor, he was not a certified plastic surgeon.

The doctor has now appeared before the Florida Board of Medicine which revoked his medical license. During a statement to the board, he said he was "completely broken" and blamed judgement for his "grave error".

BBL surgery has the highest death rate of all cosmetic procedures, says the NHS. The main concern is that the injected fat can cause a blockage in a blood vessel in the lungs, which can be fatal. Other risks include a serious skin infection and lumpy scars.

In September Alice Webb, 33, became the first person to die following a liquid BBL in a UK clinic. Alice’s partner, campaign group Save Face, and the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) are joining the Mirror in demanding action to stop devastating cosmetic procedures in Britain.

Other recent tragedies include a British mum who had a Brazilian buff lift operation in Turkey. A young influencer mum-of-one also died hours after undergoing liposuction at a dodgy clinic that was fined for letting untrained staff carry out treatments just days before her operation.

BAAPS has advised its members not to carry out BBL surgery. Instead, they can carry out gluteal fat grafting, which uses an ultrasound during the procedure to make sure fat is not injected into the muscle.