Turkish cosmetics firm upsells potentially deadly BBL surgery to unsuspecting Brits in Mirror probe

Turkish cosmetics firm upsells potentially deadly BBL surgery to unsuspecting Brits in Mirror probe EXCLUSIVE: The surgeon even suggested that our reporter should “gain some weight” if she opted for the BBL so she had enough fat to carry out the procedure A cosmetics firm has been upselling potentially deadly operations abroad to unsuspecting Brits, it's been revealed. A company hawking the risky operation was recorded offering discounts to lure in folk. Experts warned of cosmetic tourism’s dangers as our undercover probe exposed “deeply troubling” practices at a conference where Turkish firms touted their wares. Two of our reporters - one male, one female - recorded a sales representative saying he could “guarantee” convenience and promised a “really good discount". Then in a follow-up consultation call - which lasted just 14 minutes and took place over Whatsapp - with a surgeon in Turkey, we discussed a potential liposuction procedure to “tone hips and tummy". Within seconds he “recommended” an additional “skinny Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL)” treatment to inject the harvested fat into the “gluteal area”. He even suggested taking “gainers” or “supplements” to bulk up before the op so the fat could be removed and pumped into the buttocks. We shared our footage and audio recordings to industry experts who described the practices as "deeply troubling". They said our findings demonstrate the dangers facing patients travelling abroad. Ricardo Ribeiro, whose daughter Morgan, 20, died after gastric sleeve surgery in Turkey, said it was “disturbing”. He said: “It just shows that this is about nothing but profit - health wasn’t in their minds in any way shape or form.” Ashton Collins of Save Face, the UK’s leading Government-approved register, said she was “appalled". And Anthony MacQuillan, the president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons - known as BAAPS - said the footage raised serious concerns about “commercially-driven” consultations. He told us: “There is no such thing as surgery that doesn’t have risk attached to it. “But it’s even more dangerous when the people involved are obviously not examining the patient properly and really not acting in the patient’s best interests. They’re just acting in a really irresponsible manner and it’s because it’s driven by commercial interests.” The Foreign Office says at least 28 British people have died since 2019 due to complications from elective medical procedures performed in Turkey. Seven British nationals lost their lives in the country in 2025 alone following medical procedures. And analysis suggests the NHS is burdened with costs of nearly £20,000 per patient when cosmetic and obesity surgery abroad goes wrong. Morgan went into septic shock in January 2024 on her flight back to the UK. The plane was diverted to Belgrade, but Morgan died in a hospital in the Serbian capital days later. Melissa Kerr, 31, died on the day she had BBL surgery at the private Medicana Kadikoy Hospital in Istanbul in 2019. A coroner raised concerns that she and others were not given enough information to help them make safe decisions before they went abroad to go under the knife. Despite the tragedies, the UK market for private Turkish clinics is thriving. Dozens of companies proudly sold their services at the Manchester International Health Tourism Expo. Our undercover reporter - who, at 7.5st and standing 5ft 5in tall, is already a healthy weight by NHS standards - spoke with a representative from Turkish firm Medical Point named Ahmed Altun. He suggested it was unlikely she would experience complications in potential liposuction treatment because she was “not overweight”. When asked how long it would take, he said: “It depends if there are any side effects. Since you are not overweight I would say, between seven to 10 days max. You will be in the hospital for just two days, then you will just have a follow-up once then you will fly back home.” Asked if she would be left with scarring, he said they use “special” equipment, adding: “They will give you some creams, the scar will be gone in a couple of months.” In a bid to reassure our reporter about the "outcomes", Mr Altun produced a WhatsApp message from a recent Nigerian patient. The woman - who had undergone “liver surgery” before opting for liposuction - seemed to praise the care. The representative told our reporter: “She’s really satisfied with the results.” When asked about costs, the representative said we would need to have an online consultation before saying: “I will try my best to do a really good discount. If you ask other places, [our care] would be more convenient. I can guarantee that.” After sending images to a consultant in Turkey, we had a WhatsApp call with a surgeon who told us: “Using your own fat, we can reshape the gluteal area and the hips.” He added: “The other name we can use is a Brazilian Butt Lift if we perform that... the combined liposuction 360 and fat transfer for the glutes and the hips.” The surgeon even suggested that our reporter should “gain some weight” if she opted for the BBL so she had enough fat to carry out the procedure. He said: “One of the main issues is you should have enough fat because we are reshaping those areas, the hips and the gluteal areas using your own fat. So if you don’t have enough fat, it would be better to gain some weight until the surgery if you are considering this kind of procedure.” He added: “We are getting the fat from the tummy, sides, back and sometimes from the inner thighs and after preparing them, I am injecting them...” He suggested using powdered “gainers” to add fat before the procedure. At no point did he ask a single question about our reporter’s medical history. He said: “Some of our patients like this... like your body... with a skinny BBL... you can use some gainers, this supplement, it’s a kind of supplement in different brands. You can use them so that the supplement includes a lot of calories and you can gain a lot of calories and fat in this kind of supplement.” BBLs are not illegal in the UK or Turkey, but they are unregulated and are considered to be the most dangerous and life-threatening form of cosmetic surgery. Asked if there were any risks, the surgeon said: “Surgery has some unique risks, even simple and basic procedures includes risk but we can minimise those risks especially for the liposuction with using power-assisted liposuction device. I’m using that routinely. “And for the fat grafting, the Brazilian Butt Lift surgery, I’m using an ultra-sound device to check the fat grafting areas to stay above the muscle to prevent any complications.” He added: “We should do the liposuction and BBL procedures at the same time. We need your fat to use for that. “First of all I will harvest the fat and get the fat grafts from your body and then after preparing them I will inject them into those areas freshly. We cannot keep them for days, we should inject them during the same surgery.” The surgeon suggested recovery would take between four to six weeks and said they would provide a “corset” or “compression garment". He said: “We will start to see the final results in a couple of months. For the first weeks there may be bruising, swelling as you know. You will get better day-by-day and week-by-week. We will start to see the final definition and the shape. You can go back to your work by seven to 10 days after surgery.” Asked if the surgery would likely have a “good outcome”, he said: “The main goal of that surgery is this, because you don’t need the tummy tuck. You don’t have saggy skin or excess skin, just need liposuction and skin tightening to achieve a more defined appearance.” Medical Point was among dozens of foreign health firms selling treatments abroad at Manchester’s two-day ALZ Health Tourism Expo. Ashton Collins of Save Face said: “I was appalled by the casual way the surgeon spoke to this patient. There was no adequate discussion of risks or potential complications, and no proper basis for informed consent. “Using virtual consultations to fast-track bookings or pressure people into major surgery is unacceptable. Surgery should never be treated as a purchase to be hurried through a sales process. What we saw falls seriously short of the standard patients should expect from a responsible surgeon. “No one should be encouraged towards an irreversible procedure before their suitability has been properly assessed and they understand the risks, alternatives and recovery involved.” Mr Ribeiro said: “The fact that you inquired about liposuction and they immediately offered a BBL dumbfounds me. “At a healthy weight of seven-and-a-half stone, they should have told you that liposuction wouldn’t be appropriate, rather than allowing you to have it and then trying to upsell you a skinny BBL. They could have offered a million other alternatives like seeing a dietitian, but instead they jumped straight to surgery.” He added: “I’m speaking out because I don’t want any other family to go through what we’ve been through.” Mr MacQuillan, from BAAPS, said “upselling” introduced a new level of danger to patients and raised concerns about “good medicine”. He said: “You listen to the patient and ask what their problems are, what their needs are, not basically what what you think you can get out of them or get them to do. “I don’t believe that the whole thing should start with the sales process. It should start with the medical consultation and not involve remote consultations for surgery without actually seeing the patient. “Every time you do something additional to the patient, it increases risk. As soon as you start upselling, you’re introducing more risk to the patient for procedures they weren’t actually asking for. That surely isn’t a good thing. You would hope most responsible doctors are not behaving in that manner. The thing about people going abroad for surgery, it’s not intrinsically bad. There are world class surgeons in Turkey. But you will also pay world class prices to go and see them.” Consultant plastic surgeon Dr Simon Lee said: “On the face of it, the consultation may seem reasonable. The patient asked about achieving more definition, so it was appropriate to discuss fat grafting to areas such as the hip dips, abdomen and gluteal region. The surgeon also referred to using ultrasound during a Brazilian butt lift to reduce risk. “But the most striking omission is any meaningful discussion of risk. Patients need to understand the potential complications of surgery, including those that can arise in the early post-operative period, as well as serious risks such as blood clots and thromboembolism. For gluteal fat grafting, the possibility of a life-threatening fat embolism must be addressed clearly and specifically. “Questions about flying after surgery should not be brushed aside as an administrative matter for a patient coordinator. That advice has medical implications and should be given by an appropriately qualified clinician. More fundamentally, there appears to have been no proper assessment of whether surgery was necessary or suitable, and no adequate discussion of its consequences. “In the UK, patients should expect a full medical history to be taken and a clinician to take responsibility for their care. That means giving honest advice, explaining risks and alternatives, and making sure the patient’s consent is informed and genuinely voluntary. What I find most disturbing is the apparent absence of that care.” Last year an inquest was told that mother-of-one Ruby Khan, from Oldham, had suffered a cardiac arrest on the operating table during a liposuction and tummy tuck procedure at the Izmir Medical Point clinic, in İzmir. Consultant histopathologist Dr Sami Titi conducted a postmortem at the Royal Oldham Hospital when Ruby’s body was transferred back home from Turkey. He said he “didn’t think there was an indication that the procedure itself was faulty, nor the aftercare." In fact, he said, the cardiac arrhythmias experienced by Ruby are “common causes of death in these types of procedures”. The pathologist said it appeared the same “standard procedures” for a patient in the UK having those procedures had been followed. He added: “These complications are rare but do take place in some instances.” Medical Point was approached for comment.