What are Brazilian butt lifts and should they be banned?

What happened?

Alice Webb, 33, died at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital early on Tuesday morning. It is believed she became ill after undergoing a non-surgical, liquid BBL procedure at a clinic in Britain.

What is a BBL?

A BBL procedure changes the shape of the bottom so that it appears larger or more defined.

Nora Nugent, a plastic surgeon and president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (Baaps), said the term had traditionally only been applied to a specific type of procedure, where fat is removed from an area of ​​the body using liposuction and injected. in the buttocks. This procedure often involves a general anesthesia.

But, she added, BBL had now become something of an umbrella term. “The term has evolved somewhat to include non-surgical or liquid BBLs, which involve filler,” she said.

These fillers are usually based on hyaluronic acid or poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), which are injected into the buttocks, often after local anesthesia has been given. The results can last for a few years.

Why are BBLs so dangerous?

Traditional BBLs are risky because of the dangers of injected fat entering the blood vessels.

“There was a rash of deaths, especially in Florida, where the injected fat got into the large veins in the buttock, under the muscle, and traveled to the lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism,” Nugent said.

As a result, Baaps stopped all its members from conducting BLLs in 2018. However, in 2022 it issued new guidelines, noting that risks could be reduced by ensuring that the fat is not injected into the muscle, but into the area between the skin and the muscle. This, it adds, should be done using ultrasound.

Nugent said that while liquid BBLs may seem safer on paper – not least because they don’t involve general anesthesia or liposuction – fillers can also cause embolisms. “It’s actually a gel. And if the gel actually blocks a blood vessel, it can block the flow to where that blood vessel went,” she said.

There’s another problem: liquid BBLs are unlicensed and unregulated in Britain.

Should such procedures be banned in Britain?

Some people think so, including Save Facea UK register of licensed cosmetic practitioners.

“They (liquid BBLs) are advertised on social media as ‘risk-free’, ‘cheaper’ alternatives to the surgical counterpart, and that couldn’t be further from the truth,” said Ashton Collins, the director of Save Face, adding that the organization had supported more than 500 women who suffered complications after these treatments, many of whom almost died.

“All procedures reported to us were performed by non-healthcare providers performing incredibly dangerous procedures in non-sterile environments.”

However, Nugent said there is a role for BBLs, including those who use fillers, if done properly, both for reconstructive work and for aesthetic reasons. The key, she emphasizes, is to ensure they are only carried out by fully trained medical professionals.

“Fillers should be made inaccessible to laypeople,” she said. “People who are not trained should not get their hands on these products and if they do, there should be consequences. It should be illegal for them to do this.”

Omar Ahmed, a consultant plastic surgeon and spokesperson for the British Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS), also said that BBLs or liquid BBLs should only be performed by appropriate medical professionals.

“The bottom line is that it has to be done by someone who is trained to do it, someone who has the experience to do it, someone who is qualified to do it, and someone who does it the right way ,” he said.

It is understood the government is looking at options to tighten regulations around the non-surgical cosmetics sector.