Hairdresser who had a Brazilian ‘bottom lift’ says she is ‘lucky to be alive’

A hairdresser who had a Brazlian butt-lift at the same cosmetic surgery clinic where a mother died says she is ‘lucky to be alive’ after a botched operation. 

Isabelle Berry, 28, of Eton, Berkshire, underwent the procedure at the Elite Aftercare Clinic in Izmir, Turkey in January last year.

Ms Berry, who also works as a dancer, told how she became desperately ill after her surgery – and knew something was wrong when her bottom started leaking on the plane home. 

She has decided to speak out after the death of Leah Cambridge, 29, from Leeds, who is believed to have suffered three heart attacks after undergoing a Brazilian butt lift at the Turkish clinic.

She told how she became desperately ill after her surgery

Ms Berry, who also works as a dancer, told how she became desperately ill after her surgery – and knew something was wrong when her bottom started leaking on the plane home

Ms Berry, pictured on holiday, spent two weeks at Wrexham Park Hospital and had to have an operation to remove the infected fat

Ms Berry, pictured on holiday, spent two weeks at Wrexham Park Hospital and had to have an operation to remove the infected fat

Ms Berry told how she was unable to eat or move, and after four days back in the UK she visited her doctor, who prescribed her antibiotics.

But her condition didn’t improve and she was rushed to A&E where it was discovered she had septicaemia after the fat injected into her bottom infected her blood.

She told MailOnline: ‘I am lucky I am still here. My body was just shutting down.

‘The drugs I was given when I came back to Britain didn’t do anything. I actually felt like I was dying.

‘I could barely move, I couldn’t get out of bed. My mum had to take me to hospital. It was there that I was told I had developed septicaemia.’

Ms Berry spent two weeks at Wrexham Park Hospital and had to have an operation to remove the infected fat.

She has not had any other procedures, and has been left with scars across her body, and a misshapen stomach. 

Miss Berry was rushed to A&E where it was discovered she had septicaemia after the fat injected into her bottom infected her blood

Miss Berry on holiday

Miss Berry was rushed to A&E where it was discovered she had septicaemia after the fat injected into her bottom infected her blood

Miss Berry had the surgery at the Elite Aftercare Clinic in Izmir, Turkey (pictured) - the same place where Leah Cambridge died

Miss Berry had the surgery at the Elite Aftercare Clinic in Izmir, Turkey (pictured) – the same place where Leah Cambridge died

Doctors removed three and a half litres of fat from her body

Miss Berry

Miss Berry, pictured, said doctors at the clinic removed three and a half litres of fat from her body that was injected into her bottom

She said: ‘This really has affected me badly. It has really knocked my confidence. I don’t want to wear a bikini that shows my belly. 

‘I don’t think they should be allowed to practice. I know surgery can go wrong.  But I am fit and healthy. If it can can happen to me it happen to anyone.’  

WHAT IS A BRAZILIAN BUTT LIFT? 

A Brazilian Butt Lift uses fat transferred from other areas of the body, such as the love handles, hips or stomach, to provide patients with a fuller derriere.  

Clinics report the procedure, which costs between £6,500 and £10,000, has seen more than a 50 per cent increase compared to five years ago. 

The procedure’s nickname was coined in 1996 after Dr Leonard Grossman was filmed performing fat transfer surgery on a patient from Brazil. 

The surgery takes anywhere from one to two hours to perform. The amount of downtime ranges from one to three weeks, plastic surgeons claim.

HOW IT WORKS:  

1. Liposuction to remove fat from abdomen/hips/thighs

2. Fat is ‘processed’

3. Fat is injected into buttocks

BBL STYLES:

  • Upside-down heart, or ‘A-shape’: Much smaller waist and larger buttocks towards the bottom
  • Round: emphasis on increasing the size of the butt, not pulling in the waist or thighs 

HOW TO PREPARE:

  • Don’t smoke (increases infection risk and blood clot risk)
  • Don’t gain weight (when you lose it again, your butt will change) 

RISK OF DEATH:

Higher than most operations – 20 in 100,000 compared with 1 in 100,000.

There are two major risk factors that can make a BBL fatal:

  • Blood clots travel to lungs
  • Accidental injection of fat to blood vessel 

RECOVERY:

1. Don’t work for 10 days

2. Don’t sit for 6 weeks

3. Sleep on stomach

4. Final shape will take months or a year to form

The Elite Aftercare Clinic is a favourite among a host of celebrities, and has been used by the likes of former The Only Way is Essex star Lauren Goodger.

Her partner of ten years Scott Franks, 31, told how she was paranoid about the size of her stomach after having three children.  

Paying tribute to her today he said: ‘I told her she was beautiful how she was but she really wanted it for her own confidence.

‘I didn’t think this would ever happen – or could happen to her.’  

Ms Berry told how she was at the Elite Aftercare Clinic for a week after having the surgery, which doctors say carries risk, depending on which techniques are used to carry it out.

Doctors there removed three and a half litres of fat from her body – including from around her knees. She said she put on a stone in weight to have the op.

But soon after the £3,000 procedure she started to feel unwell, and din’t want to eat anything.

She was discharged and travelled back to Britain, but her body started leaking fat on the plane home.

‘It was then I knew something was wrong,’ she said.

Ms Berry said medics back in the UK told her that three and a half litres of fat was way too much to take in one operation.

After she was finally released from hospital she contacted the clinic who she said ‘made out like I was lying.’

They finally repaid her £2,500 – but Ms Berry said she should have demanded more.

She said: ‘I should have asked for it all back, but I was too ill to fight it. 

‘They get celebrities to promote this clinic, it makes it all look great, but the reality is very different.’

Cosmetic procedures in Turkey are advertised at prices up to 70 per cent cheaper than in the UK. 

Face and neck lifts in Turkey can cost as little as £2,640 – compared to around £4,500 in Britain. 

Boob jobs are on offer for £2,275, compared with £5,500 at home.

Patients at Elite Aftercare that have surgery are catered for in the luxury aftercare villa.

On the clinic’s website it says accommodation consists of a large double bedroom with en-suite and balcony. 

The inside of the luxury aftercare villa, where all meals are prepared and a nurse is on call at all times.

The inside of the luxury aftercare villa, where all meals are prepared and a nurse is on call at all times.

On the clinic's website it says accommodation consists of a large double bedroom with en-suite and balcony

On the clinic’s website it says accommodation consists of a large double bedroom with en-suite and balcony

One of the bedrooms in the luxury villa which aims to provide care to a 'UK standard'

One of the bedrooms in the luxury villa which aims to provide care to a ‘UK standard’

Patients also have a private chauffeur for all routine appointments and airport transfers.

Every meal is prepared and a nurse is on call at all times.

It says the clinic aims to provide a ‘UK standard’ and patients can use free wifi, cable television and Bluetooth speakers.

The clinic offers a huge range of procedures, including tummy tucks, thigh lifts, buttock implants, chin implants, ear re-shaping and chin reduction. 

Elite Aftercare say on their website that Brazilian butt-lift procedure usually takes between one and two hours and can either be performed under general anaesthetic, or a local anaesthetic with an epidural.

Heartbreaking: Miss Cambridge's partner Scott Franks, pictured together, has described his devastation at her loss

Miss Cambridge, who was a mother of three boys, is thought to have suffered complications very soon into the procedure

Leah Cambridge, right, and with her partner Scott Franks, left. The mother of three died after undergoing the Brazlian butt-lift operation

It says after surgery patients will feel ‘some slight pain and discomfort’ but ‘the majority of out clients are walking around the next day with no pain but some discomfort.’

Patients will be left with bruising for three to four weeks, but after a months the swelling will go down, and gradually disappear after three months. It can take up to six months to see the final result.  

Anyone having the surgery is left with ‘literally no scarring’ as the cannula used to perform the liposuction leaves just a 2mm small hole. 

It adds that surgery should not be taken lightly but that complications ‘rarely’ occur. 

Possible but common concerns following the operation can include ‘bleeding, infection anaesthesia problems, fat necrosis and decreased sensation.’

In April this year a group representing plastic surgeons worldwide said the op is the deadliest cosmetic procedure.

It has surged in popularity in recent years as women look to emulate curvy-bottomed celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Nicki Minaj and Chloe Khan.

The Multisociety Gluteal Fat Grafting Task Force, which represents five societies of plastic surgeons, said the surgery carries the highest death rate of any aesthetic procedure. 

They have called for plastic surgeons to reevaluate their techniques ‘urgently’ as they clamour to identify why it carries such a high risk.   

MailOnline has approached Elite Aftercare for comment.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk