A cosmetic surgeon said he would “never touch the BBL procedure with a barge pole” — speaking after Alice Webb became first UK’s first victim.
Dr Kasim Usmani, 32, runs his own clinic in central London, and performs procedures like salmon sperm injections and non-surgical nose jobs.
But he says the BBL surgery is not a safe procedure and should be avoided at all costs.
He also explained how the procedure is carried out — and said it was “inevitable” a death from the procedure would happen in the UK.
Mother-of-five Alice Webb, 33, died in Gloucestershire Royal Hospital as result of complications from the procedure in what is believed to be first case of a death caused by BBL in the UK.
Two people have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.
Kasim said: “It’s so unfortunate this has happened and it has happened due a to lack of regulation.
“I would never touch this procedure with a barge pole.
“It is devastating that a mother of five kids has lost her life due to this dangerous procedure.”
Kasim says the non-surgical form of the BBL — which it is understood Alice had — involved “an injection of hyaluronic acid” — a natural substance found in the fluids in the eyes and joints
“The filler is then injected into buttock to increase curvature and increase buttock size as well as improving the contouring,” Kasim said.
In addition to the procedure being inherently dangerous, Kasim says added danger comes form the lack of regulation of the cosmetic procedure in the UK.
“It was an inevitable someone would die from this,” he said.
“We always knew if things were unregulated people would come to harm and that’s exactly what happened.
“We’ve been saying this for years.”
Apart from the possibility of death, Kasim says other complications from getting a BBL include sepsis, localised infections, abscesses, tissue death, and embolisms — the sudden blockage of a blood vessel by an object such as a blood clot that has traveled from another part of the body through the bloodstream
Kasim said: “The list really does goes on.
“It is not a safe procedure and even if you don’t have any medical problems resulting from it there are also aesthetic issues that can arise such as the buttocks becoming overfilled with fluid and looking asymmetrical.”
According to the UK government: “The current regulatory framework places few restrictions on who can perform non-surgical cosmetic procedures” meaning there are many practices offering potentially dangerous surgery — something Dr. Usmani thinks should change.
He recently came across a patient who had a BBL done by a hairdresser.
“That was very shocking to see,” he said.
“The buttocks is a high risk area with a high blood supply.
“Procedures like that when done without appropriate training can cause life threatening complications — and we have seen the devastating consequences of that this week.”
Dr Kasim urges people to ensure cosmetic surgery is done by someone with a proven track record who is regulated by a professional body like the GMC or equivalent.
