A MUM-of-three who died days after undergoing a “Brazilian butt lift” surgery did not consent to the procedure, an inquest heard.
Demi Agoglia, 26, died in Turkey after a “barbaric” operation contributed to by neglect with “no proper pre-operative care and advice”, a coroner warned.
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Demi travelled to Turkey for the operation after seeing celebrity endorsements for Istanbul-based Comfort Zone Surgery on social media.
The mother of three was said to be “conscious about the way she looked” and was insistent on undergoing the procedure, which sees fat taken from elsewhere on the body and injected into the hips and buttocks.
Her partner, Bradley Jones, said he had not wanted Agoglia to have the surgery but she had booked the trip months earlier after seeing “some celebrity” endorse it online.
Immediately after the operation she was “shaking” and appeared “very, very cold”, he told Bolton coroner’s court.
Staff from Comfort Zone were called to the villa where she was staying after Agoglia complained of a tight chest, and they checked her blood pressure, but did not inspect the area of the operation or check her heart rate and pulse, the inquest heard.
Agoglia then collapsed at the villa and was taken back to a hospital in Istanbul where she died on 8 January, three days after the operation.
It later emerged that the Comfort Zone staff who were called out to the villa were not qualified nurses.
The inquest heard that their “completely bizarre” actions included trying to feed pieces of cucumber to Agoglia after she collapsed.
The Bolton coroner, John Pollard, ruled that the medical cause of death was a microscopic fat embolism in which tissue leaks into the bloodstream.
Mr Pollard told Ms Agoglia’s family he would write to Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, 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.”
The court heard that Ms Agoglia 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 Jan 4 with her partner, Bradley Jones.
Mr Jones, a landscaper, said he also did not want Ms Agoglia to have the surgery, but she had already booked the trip through a company named Comfort Zone Surgery after “she had seen some celebrity” advertising the procedure.
Concluding that Agoglia had 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 pre-operative 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.”
Dr Omar Tillo, a Harley Street consultant plastic surgeon, told the inquest: “The lack of proper care and response, particularly the failure to address post-operative complications, are likely to have played a significant role in Demi’s tragic outcome.”
