A cosmetic surgeon said he would “never touch a BBL procedure with a barge pole” – speaking after Alice Webb became Britain’s first victim.
Dr Qasim Usmani, 32, runs his own clinic in central London, and performs procedures such as salmon sperm injections and non-surgical nose jobs.
But he says that 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” that the procedure would lead to deaths in the UK.
Mother-of-five Alice Webb, 33, died at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital from complications of the procedure, in what is believed to be the first case of death caused by BBL in Britain.
Two people have been arrested on suspicion of murder.
Qasim said: “It is very unfortunate that this has happened and it has happened because of a lack of regulation.
“I would never touch this process with a barge pole.
“It is devastating that a mother of five lost her life due to this dangerous procedure.”
Qasim says the non-surgical form of BBL – which Alice understood – involved “an injection of hyaluronic acid” – a natural substance found in the fluid in the eyes and joints.
“Filler is then injected into the buttocks to increase curvature and enhance the shape of the buttocks as well as improve the contours,” Kassim said.
In addition to the procedure being inherently dangerous, Kassim says the lack of regulation of the cosmetic procedure in the UK poses an additional risk.
“It was inevitable that someone would die from this,” he said.
“We always knew that if things were unregulated people would suffer and that is exactly what happened.
“We’ve been saying this for years.”
Besides the possibility of death, Qasim says other complications from having a BBL include sepsis, localized infection, abscesses, tissue death, and embolism — a sudden blockage in a blood vessel by an object such as a blood clot that moves from another part of the body. came through the bloodstream of the body
Qasim said: “The list is really long.
“This is not a safe procedure and even if you do not have any medical problems as a result, aesthetic problems may arise, such as the buttocks becoming filled 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” which means there are many practices offering potentially dangerous surgeries – Dr Osmani believes. There should be a change in this.
Recently he met a patient who had got BBL done by a hairdresser.
“It was shocking to see,” he said.
“The buttocks are a high-risk area with a high blood supply.
“Procedures like this can lead to life-threatening complications when performed without proper training – and we have seen the devastating consequences of this this week.”
Dr Kassim urges people to ensure that cosmetic surgery is performed by someone with a proven track record who is regulated by a professional body such as the GMC or equivalent.
