Mother died after 'frankly barbaric' butt-lift surgery

A mother-of-three died after she was subjected to a catalogue of poor care and did not give informed consent when she underwent “Brazilian butt lift” surgery in Turkey, an inquest has heard.

- KIM PILLING

Demi Agoglia, 26, from Salford, Greater Manchester, was said to be “conscious about the way she looked” and was insistent on undergoing the BBL procedure, in which fat is taken from elsewhere on the body and injected into the hips and buttocks.

She died in a hospital in Istanbul on 8 January this year, just three days after the operation. On Wednesday, Bolton coroner John Pollard ruled the medical cause of death was a microscopic fat embolism in which tissue leaks into the bloodstream.

Concluding that Ms Agoglia died as a result of misadventure contributed to by neglect, he said: “I find there was no proper informed consent in this matter, there was no proper preoperative care and advice, and no proper post-operative care. All of this meant the care in total fell well below the standard expected of this type of treatment and the lack of care contributed significantly to Demi’s death.”

Mr Pollard told Ms Agoglia’s family he would write to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, adding: “I do feel something further needs to be done to stop this frankly barbaric medical practice being conducted to such low standards that would certainly not be tolerated in the UK.”

Bolton Coroner’s Court heard that Ms Agoglia, from Little Hulton, had struggled with her mental health and was on medication for ADHD and bipolar disorder. Her mother, Christine Tydd, told the hearing she told Ms Agoglia she was a “good-looking girl” and did not need the operation, shortly before her daughter travelled to Turkey on 4 January with her partner, Bradley Jones.