Government officials are set to meet leaders in Turkey after a woman died following a "Brazilian butt lift."
Melissa Kerr died in a private hospital in Istanbul in 2019 after undergoing the procedure to collect fat and inject it into her buttocks. The 31-year-old's death sparked senior coroner Jacqueline Lake to express her concerns about patients travelling to Turkey for such cosmetic surgery.
UK Government officials will now meet their counterparts in Turkey to discuss the risks associated. Coroner Jacqueline Lake said that Ms Kerr, of Denton, Norfolk, was only given "limited information regarding the risks and mortality rate" associated with the operation.
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The coroner wrote to the Department of Health and Social Care with her concerns following an inquest heard in September this year. Ms Lake also raised concerns that there were "no or limited controls with regard to such surgery taking place".
Her concerns were addressed to then-health secretary Steve Barclay, and a response has since been received from Maria Caulfield, minister for mental health and women's health strategy. In her response this month, Ms Caulfield said: "My officials will... be visiting Turkey shortly to meet with their counterparts.
"The intention is to discuss the regulatory framework, and the protections that are in place for UK nationals, and to identify concrete areas where the UK and Turkish authorities should work together to reduce the risks to patients in the future."
She continued: "It is particularly important that those considering having the 'Brazilian Butt Lift' (BBL) procedure are made fully aware of the risks and have time to reflect fully on their decision ahead of surgery. As you note in the report, the risks associated with this procedure are high.
"The risk of death for BBL surgery is at least 10 times higher than many other cosmetic procedures, and it has the highest death rate of all cosmetic procedures. As you note, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) has advised its members not to carry out Brazilian butt lift surgery until more is known about safer techniques for the procedure.
"The Government is considering how we can most effectively communicate with those considering medical treatment abroad, to ensure people are better informed about the risks ahead of surgery and understand the need to ensure appropriate aftercare, including considering when it may be safe to travel home."
Ms Caulfield said she hoped her response was "helpful in setting out how seriously the UK Government is taking the issues raised in your report". Ms Kerr died on the day of the butt lift - which sees fat harvested from elsewhere on the body and injected into the buttocks - on November 19 2019.
She died after injected fat entered a vein before moving and blocking her pulmonary artery, with her cause of death recorded as pulmonary thromboembolism and fat embolism, with a secondary cause stated as elective cosmetic surgery.
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