Tributes have been paid to a woman who is thought to be the first person to die from undergoing a suspected “liquid Brazilian butt lift” in the UK.
Alice Webb, 33, was taken to Gloucestershire Royal hospital in Gloucester on Monday after becoming unwell and died early on Tuesday morning.
Gloucestershire police said Webb had undergone a “suspected cosmetic procedure” before falling ill. Two people have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, the force said.
Friends of Webb, who had five children, set up a fundraising campaign to raise money for her family but it has since been closed. The fundraiser said she had undergone a Brazilian butt lift. The surgical version of this would normally see fat, taken from elsewhere in the subject’s body, inserted in the buttocks to add volume. However, a cheaper non-surgical procedure – referred to as a “liquid BBL” and offered for around £1,600 – sees hyaluronic acid dermal fillers directly injected.
Ashton Collins, the director of Save Face, a UK register of accredited cosmetic practitioners, said Webb’s death should have been prevented and called liquid Brazilian butt lift procedures a “crisis waiting to happen”.
She said the organisation was assisting more than 500 women who had faced health complications after such treatments. Save Face said this was the “first case of a death caused” by the procedure in the UK.
Webb’s partner, Dane Knight, declined to comment at his home but said in a tribute on social media: “Want to say a heartfelt thank you to all family and friends that were here for us at our time of need, including all of the kind messages sent to my children and myself.”
A friend of Webb posted on social media: “This past 24 hours has been a dream I’ve so desperately wanted to wake up from.
“You were the best friend anyone could ever ask for I’m heartbroken that you had to grow your angel wings and become another guardian angel to watch over me, your family, the kids and Dane.
“I will forever love and miss you. It’s not goodbye just tada for now Amy. Life will never be the same again.”
Webb worked in the beauty industry and lived in Wotton-under-Edge in Gloucestershire.
Save Face launched a campaign calling for the end of liquid Brazilian butt lift procedures in the UK last December. Collins said: “We made it absolutely clear that without urgent intervention someone would die. I am devastated by the news of Alice’s passing. It makes me incredibly sad and angry that Alice’s death could and should have been prevented.
“Liquid [Brazilian butt lift] procedures are a crisis waiting to happen. They are advertised on social media as ‘risk-free’, ‘cheaper’ alternatives to the surgical counterpart and that could not be further from the truth.
“We have supported over 500 women who have suffered complications because of these treatments, many of which have nearly died.”
Collins said more than half of the cases reported to Save Face contracted sepsis, a life-threatening reaction to an infection, and two in five of these cases needed corrective surgery.
She added: “I would advise anyone considering one of these treatments to avoid them at all costs. The risks significantly outweigh any associated benefits.”
• This article was amended on 27 September 2024 to specify that the suspected procedure involved is believed to be the “liquid Brazilian butt lift”, as distinct from the surgical version.
