A mum-of-three has been left with ‘bullet wound’ holes in her bum after an agonising ‘Brazilian butt lift’ she bought on Facebook.
Melissa Crawford, 30, had always been self conscious of her ‘flat’ behind and when childbirth left her looking like an ‘ironing board’, she began searching for ways to feel more confident in her body.
After scrolling through Facebook, she came across a salon in her local city of Belfast that was offering customers a ‘Liquid Brazilian Butt Lift’ (BBL) for £1700, which involves plumping out the buttock tissue with injections of dermal filler.
Ms Crawford underwent the non-surgical procedure in May this year, alongside facial filler, but she has now been put off the injections ‘for life’ due to the extreme complications.
Melissa Crawford had always been self conscious of her ‘flat’ behind and when childbirth left her looking like an ‘ironing board’ she began searching for ways to feel more confident in her body
The 30-year-old first thought about going to Turkey to undergo a ‘liquid BBL’, but she thought this would be too ‘dangerous’ and she instead decided to find a salon closer to home
Ms Crawford had a litre of filler injected into her backside with a giant needle usually used for liposuction procedures.
She claims she was never told to sign any documents or shown details of the products being put into her.
Just 24 hours after the procedure — which she says was more painful than childbirth — abscesses began growing on her bottom.
A liquid BBL is different from a traditional procedure, which involves transferring fat from other areas of the body, such as the hips or stomach.
BBLs are one of the most dangerous types of cosmetic surgery available.
The risk of death is higher than most operations, currently estimated at one in 15,000.
Surgeons can accidentally inject the fat into the bloodstream — which can cause a potentially deadly blood clot.
But liquid BBLs still have risks including, infection, allergic reactions and, if filler is injected deeply or in the wrong location, nerve damage can occur, experts say.
Unlike with facial fillers where complications can be managed effectively by skilled injectors, injections into the buttocks often require hospital treatment when something goes wrong.
Ms Crawford says she forked out £1,700 to undergo a non-surgical butt lift and a round of eyebrow filler (pictured after procedure above)
Just 24 hours after the procedure which she says was more painful than childbirth, abscesses began growing on her bottom (pictured above)
Ms Crawford claims she reached out to the aesthetician about the pain and infection she was experiencing. But she was reportedly ignored (pictured scars following the procedure)
‘I have always been really self conscious about my bum because it’s quite flat,’ Ms Crawford said.
‘Growing up I was more of a boob girl than a bum girl and then I had kids and my boobs went. I just look like an ironing board.’
Although she had never heard of the salon before and only saw a few Facebook posts from the beautician, not many places offered the procedure so she decided to go with it.
The beautician reassured her, explaining she had done the procedure on herself.
‘She did the bum filler first. She just asked if I was allergic to anything but I didn’t have to sign anything,’ Ms Crawford said.
‘I remember panicking here as I didn’t think this was a good sign but I wanted the treatment done so badly.
‘She didn’t show me what she was going to use and didn’t show me any of the expiry dates on the products.
‘She just got a big see-through bag with pre-filled syringes. It was so heavy and massive.
A liquid BBL is a non-surgical procedure that uses filler injections of hyaluronic acid to give a plumper look, while many surgical BBLs transfer fat from other areas of the body, such as the hips or stomach
After being prescribed antibiotics by her GP to bring down her fever, she reached out to another aesthetician who told her to go straight to hospital on May 17, when she was still experiencing pain
At the hospital, Ms Crawford underwent surgery to have the filler drained from her body and abscesses removed from her bottom on May 21. She says she was left with two ‘gaping’ holes in her backside and ‘hip dips’ all the way around her bum from the liquid BBL treatment
‘She injected me with lidocaine [for numbing] in a few spots on my bum.
‘It looked like a lipo needle. I could feel it and didn’t think I’d be able to do it.
‘She started crunching. It sounded like rocks being crunched together and she told me it was just her breaking away fat from the skin. It was excruciating and sweat was lashing off me.
‘She filled one cheek and then filled the other side. She had suggested a litre of filler in my bum.
‘I was stuck to the bed in sweat. My clothes were soaked and I was biting my hand.
‘It was excruciating. When she was done, I was so relieved. I felt like I was going to pass out.’
After the procedure the beautician told Ms Crawford she could sit down — but she was in too much pain.
‘She said it was just swelling and I would need to lay on my stomach for the first night but then I would be okay,’ Ms Crawford added.
Fat is first harvested from the hips, lower back, abdomen, thighs and other areas via liposuction . Special equipment is used to prepare it for transfer before it is injected directly into the glutes at specific points, giving the buttocks a bigger, curvier appearance. But liquid BBLs still have risks including, infection, allergic reactions and if filler is injected deeply or in the wrong location nerve damage can occur
As well as her liquid BBL, Ms Crawford claims the eyebrow filler carried out by the beautician left her looking like ‘Quasimodo’ and was advised to massage her face with a toothbrush
‘I said to the beautician that the pain felt like I was bordering on death. It was terrible.
‘There was no sign of an abscess yet but within 24 hours, I got this massive golf ball on the side of me and then another one appeared.’
Ms Crawford claims she reached out to the aesthetician about the pain swelling she was experiencing.
But her concerns were ignored, she said.
After being prescribed antibiotics by her GP to bring down a fever, she reached out to another aesthetician who told her to go straight to hospital in case of life-threatening sepsis.
‘I felt constantly lightheaded and I couldn’t eat. Even with the medicine given by the doctor, I was waking up in the middle of the night and sweat was lashing off me.
‘I was in agony. It was like this horrible throb and I felt like somebody had just pushed a brick in my bum that was scolding.’
On May 21, Ms Crawford underwent surgery to have the filler drained from her body and abscesses removed.
She says she was left with two ‘gaping’ holes in her backside and ‘hip dips’ all the way around her bottom.
‘The surgeon came down and told me he needed to remove this [the filler] now as it was in my bloodstream,’ she said.
‘I was rushed in for emergency surgery and I came out with two holes in my bum.
‘They were massive and this is where they had removed the abscesses from.
Ms Crawford says the whole experience has put her off getting filler for life and is now warning others about her own physical and mental repercussions following her treatment
Now Ms Crawford says she feels she needs to wear baggy clothes and has been put off getting any more aesthetic procedures
‘I had to have my holes packed every day. It looked like I had two massive stab or bullet wounds [in my bum].
‘One of the holes was two inches deep and the other one was slightly smaller.
‘I was devastated. At the time, I was just relieved to get it [the filler] out and recover from this.
‘But as time went on, I had big massive dents in it.
‘Where your bum naturally fills out, I have two gaping holes and dents in it so it looks like I have hip dips all the way around my bum now and it looks horrendous.’
As well as her liquid BBL, Ms Crawford claims the facial filler carried out by the beautician left her looking like ‘Quasimodo’.
She said: ‘My eye was droopy.
‘It was causing my eyelash extensions to point downwards and I couldn’t see and it felt so heavy. I felt like Quasimodo.
‘I couldn’t function. I couldn’t drive or speak to people because I felt a mess.’
Ms Crawford says the whole experience has put her off getting filler for life and is now warning others about her own physical and mental repercussions following her treatment.
‘I can’t wear jeans or dresses. I just wear baggy clothes now. I can’t go in for any kind of surgery now to fix it so I’m stuck with this for life,’ she said.
‘It was my biggest insecurity and now I feel stupid. It breaks my heart.
‘It has put me off filler for life. It’s given me the scare I needed.
‘They [the holes] are healing well. But they are massive and take up most of the side of my bum and they are hideous and I will be permanently scarred from it.’
The beautician who treated Ms Crawford said she takes any claims or concerns about her professional work ‘very seriously’, however due to patient confidentiality and the sensitive nature of these issues, she was unable to comment on specific cases or individuals.
However she claimed that all treatments provided by her are carried out with ‘utmost care, adhering to the highest standards of safety and professionalism’.
