A chilling consequence of one of the world’s riskiest cosmetic procedures was today laid bare after eight women were reportedly hospitalised with a paralysis-triggering bacterial infection.
The liquid BBL procedure — which involves pumping the buttocks with filler to increase volume — is notoriously unsafe, especially when performed by non-medics.
This is because when dermal filler is injected into or near a blood vessel, it can block blood flow, causing the tissue to die.
Yet, non-surgical BBLs, dubbed ‘a curse’ by experts, are not illegal in the UK.
Last year, mother-of-five Alice Webb, from Gloucestershire, became the first known UK victim to have died following the curve-enhancing procedure.
Now, reports have shown eight women who visited an unlicensed practitioner in Paris for a liquid BBL suffered the deadly condition botulism, after being injected with contaminated filler.
The illness is caused by toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria which can be carried in unsanitary injections, and attacks the nervous system.
If not treated urgently, it can lead to paralysis.
The liquid BBL procedure is notoriously risky, especially when performed by non-medics. This is because when dermal filler — the same material used to fill lips — is injected into or near a blood vessel, it can block blood flow leading to tissue death
Botulism, which can prove life-threatening, is caused by toxins produced by the bacteria clostridium botulinum (pictured). It can lead to paralysis if not treated urgently
Florida-based plastic surgeon Dr Johnathan Cook said the findings were ‘unsettling’ adding: ‘These procedures are catastrophes. This is a curse.
‘This is a period of regret for these patients that extends the rest of their lives.’
Presenting the cases at the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery’s annual meeting in Austin, Texas, Paris-based plastic surgeon and former president of the French Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, Dr Catherine Bergeret Galley, said: ‘Botulism cases should not be happening full stop, let alone from filler injections.
‘Please do not go to unqualified practitioners. Most of the time the products injected are poor, prohibited and incredibly dangerous for health.’
Unlike a traditional BBL, which sees fat transferred from other areas of the body, a liquid BBL involves injecting fillers.
But the bottle of filler used by the injector — who was not a doctor — Dr Catherine Bergeret Galley claimed, was contaminated with clostridium botulinum bacteria.
‘One almost died one week later,’ she said. Others were in life-threatening conditions up to six weeks later.
She also told MailOnline: ‘We are seeing more and more similar cases unfortunately because the demand for aesthetic treatments is exploding.
‘We need to fight back against this activity because some of this money is also going to criminal activity.
Last September, Alice Webb (pictured), 34, died just hours after having a non-surgical butt lift, understood to have been performed in the West Country
‘Only doctors should be injecting. You need to know anatomy, you need to know where you inject and what to inject.’
Clostridium botulinum bacteria is found in soil, dust and ocean floors, where it can remain on the surface of foods like fruits, vegetables, and seafood.
These bacteria make spores, which act like protective coatings, which are usually harmless.
However, warm and wet tight spaces lacking oxygen — such as plastic jars and cans — can lead the bacteria to release toxins that attack the central nervous system.
Symptoms include weakness and difficulty in breathing as well as swallowing.
This can lead to paralysis and even death if it’s severe and not treated, with up to one in ten cases of botulism proving fatal.
Patients who are paralysed need to relearn how to walk, talk, and perform everyday tasks again.
British experts have long warned of ‘non-surgical’ aesthetic treatments carried out by practitioners with little experience and repeatedly called for tighter controls over the cosmetic industry.
Last year Monique Sofroniou (pictured), 30, called for a ban on ‘liquid BBLs’ after a botched procedure left her buttocks with leaking black holes and in pain ‘worse than childbirth’
Monique was rushed to hospital where doctors attempted to remedy the situation (pictured: the mother-of-one after surgery in hospital to repair damage caused by the filler)
In the UK, it’s impossible to know how popular cosmetic fillers are as sales aren’t regulated and anyone can legally perform them.
But last September, Alice Webb, 34, died just hours after having a non-surgical butt lift, understood to have been performed in the West Country.
Two people were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and bailed, including the beautician alleged to have carried out the treatment.
At the time, one of Britain’s leading plastic surgeons told this website Ms Webb is believed to have had a ‘large volume of filler’ injected into her buttocks.
Others who attended the annual meeting in Austin also revealed the number of botched liquid BBLs that NHS medics are being forced to treat has ‘undoubtedly’ risen in the last year alone.
Dr Nora Nugent, president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), told MailOnline: ‘It’s absolutely time we banned unqualified people from doing it.
‘This is not treated as a medical procedure by UK regulation, but it is one with very real complications.
‘It needs anatomical knowledge, knowledge of the potential complications, knowledge of what to do if those complications happen.
‘Colleagues in the NHS are seeing patients coming in with skin loss or infections due to filler injections.
‘Yet, we don’t know exactly how widely this is going on because there’s no central reporting system for us.
‘And there’s also a whole other bunch of patients who have not technically suffered a complication, but have just an awful result because it’s been done badly.
‘They haven’t been treated well either.’
Leading UK plastic surgeon and former BAAPS president Marc Pacifico added: ‘In the face, you’re putting very small quantities of filler.
‘A teaspoon is a large amount, roughly five millilitres or five syringes. But in the buttock you need hundreds of mililitres to make a difference.
‘If that gets infected or there are problems with it or causes deformities, it’s almost impossible to correct. It’s frightening.’
