EXCLUSIVE: MailOnline went undercover in Istanbul posing as a BBL patient. We signed up on WhatsApp and were invited to Turkey without seeing a doctor.
I'm standing at the front desk of a large hospital next to a traffic-choked dual carriageway on the outskirts of Istanbul, repeating my name to the two receptionists: 'It's James…Henry James…I'm here for a Brazilian butt lift.'The Atakoy Hospital in the suburbs of Turkey 's largest city is where I have arranged to be treated by a surgeon from GMC, a private medical firm that advertises extensively in the UK offering a range of cosmetic procedures.
Read More British mother, 26, died days after having Brazilian bum-lift operation in Turkey I was apparently just a few hours away from being put under sedation to be operated on for a procedure that made no sense - and I had yet to even see a doctor in the flesh.I had come to investigate the burgeoning practice of vanity-driven Britons flocking to Turkey to have discount cosmetic surgery - and concerns about the standards of those offering it.
But cheaper prices can also mean lower surgical standards - and some 28 Brits are thought to have died in Turkey after having elective procedures in the last five years alone.Fat is first harvested from the hips, lower back, abdomen, thighs and other areas via liposuction .
Read More Brazilian Butt lift: what are the risks of this cosmetic surgery and why are so many Brits travelling abroad to get it done? Desperate to keep the British patients - and their fees - coming, the Turkish surgery companies have repeatedly played down the significance of cases like Demi's. These range from relatively low-cost vanity treatments like hair transplants and rhinoplasties - a 'nose job' in common parlance - to more involved procedures like the fitting of a so-called gastric sleeve, which involves cutting away a large portion of an obese patient's stomach to reduce their appetite.
The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons analysed 324 cases of Brits needing medical treatment or corrective surgery after having gone under the knife overseas since 2018 Experts also warn against the pressure tactics employed by cosmetic surgery clinics including time-sensitive deals and booking procedures informally using apps like WhatsApp.
Advertisement To test the claims that surgery tourism to Turkey is safe I had decided to present as the sort of patient that would sound alarm bells at any responsible organisation. None of these would explicitly exclude me from going under the knife. But renowned plastic surgeons told MailOnline they would raise serious 'flags' that would require probing.
But by the following day, Marc seemed to have changed his view of my prognosis after what he said was 'evaluation from 3 doctors' – none of whom I had spoken to personally. In order to receive my medical evaluation from GMC's doctors I had to send four photos of my bottom from these anglesThere were three price bands for the same procedure: 'Good Care' for £2,590, 'Best Care' for £3,250 and apparently 'internationally accredited Perfect Care' for £3,990
Read More Heartbroken mother of British woman, 20, who died after undergoing £2,500 weight loss surgery in Turkey sobs 'By the time I found out it was too late' At this point, I'd still never spoken to anyone properly, other than a few WhatsApp exchanges.I was then added to a WhatsApp group chat with a new man named Byfatih Çakır and six other people.
He directed me to join a group of people huddled underneath an arch, who I assume are fellow patients.Eventually a minibus pulled up alongside us and we boarded. Only when this was done, they said, would they move onto the final preparations ahead of my surgery: lines being drawn in marker pen on my body and my blood taken.
'Yes, but I have travelled a long way, and things have already gone wrong. I don't want to sign before I speak to the Dr.''Ok...I will speak to my boss.
Had I then signed as they were urging me, I would have been on the operating table under a general anaesthetic within hours 'Even if the patient is found suitable and the patient is not happy with the doctor for any reason, all our patients have the right to change their doctor or cancel their operation. In such cases they do not have any financial losses also.
They added: 'No patients are ever pressurised under any circumstances to make any decision. In the past we even had patients who wanted to think a few days after the face to face doctor approval and their requests were accepted. Mr Franks said when he flew out to Turkey after his partner died, Dr Ali Uckan, the surgeon who treated Leah, had told him: 'It's a guessing game, you can't see where you are going into.'
When the patient eats, this small pouch fills up more quickly than their stomach normally would, making them feel fuller with less food.Melissa Kerr, 31, of Gorleston, Norfolk, died after having a BBL in Turkey Her twin sister Natasha who set up a justgiving.com page after her death described her a 'a pure and beautiful soul inside and out'.
A post-mortem examination found that Mrs Bamgbose suffered perforations to her bowel during the surgery, with the cause of death given as peritonitis with multiple organ failure.
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