Two individuals have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter following the death of Alice Webb, a 33-year-old mother of five, who is believed to have undergone a non-surgical Brazilian butt lift (BBL).
Webb passed away in the early hours of Tuesday at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital after suddenly falling ill.
Save Face, a national register for accredited cosmetic treatment providers, noted that this incident marks the first known death in the UK linked to a BBL procedure.
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In light of her death, Webb’s partner, Dane Knight, has urged the public to be mindful of her family, especially her daughters, as they cope with the tragedy.
Knight expressed his gratitude on Facebook, thanking friends and family for their support and the heartfelt messages sent to him and his children.
He also requested that people avoid speculating about the circumstances of Webb’s passing to prevent any distress for her daughters.
BBL, which aims to enhance the size and shape of the buttocks, involves injecting fat or filler. Although non-surgical BBLs are legal in the UK, they have raised significant safety concerns.
Last year, Wolverhampton City Council prohibited a company from performing the procedure due to associated risks such as blood clots, sepsis, and tissue death. Similar bans have been enforced by local authorities in Essex and Glasgow.
Ashton Collins, the director of Save Face, highlighted the growing number of complications tied to liquid BBLs, warning that the procedures are being misleadingly marketed online as “risk-free” and inexpensive alternatives to the surgical version.
According to Collins, her organization has assisted 500 women who experienced serious complications from these treatments, describing the non-surgical BBLs as “a crisis waiting to happen.”
She also criticized the lack of expertise among non-medical practitioners who offer these procedures, citing cases where they failed to recognize severe complications, often mistaking abscesses and tissue necrosis for simple bruising.
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