A mother who was told she could die within the hour after a botched liquid Brazilian butt lift (BBL) has welcomed the Government's public consultation announced this week, calling for cosmetic cowboys to face jail time.
Bonnie-Louise Cooper, 29, from Swanage in Dorset, nearly died in November 2023 after developing sepsis following a £1,500 liquid BBL procedure carried out in the UK. She ended up with six doctors around her and was warned she could die within the hour.
Mother's love helped survival
Bonnie-Louise, who had chosen to have the procedure in the UK believing it would be safer, is convinced her love for her son Kash, now seven, helped her stay alive. She told the Mirror: "When I was in the hospital room I had about six doctors around me. One of the doctors told me 'you could die within the hour'. I was in disbelief. It was horrific. My organs had started shutting down. I couldn't walk, could not stand up. I was delirious."
She added: "I knew I could not die. I didn't have the support village that people have, around me. Unfortunately it was just me. That puts the fear factor there. It was like a fight or flight mode. The mother bear comes out. I was like 'I can't die, I have a son'. I knew I had to go home. It was 100 per cent the power of a mother's love that helped me live."
Today, Bonnie-Louise still has nerve damage on her left side, with her leg going numb if she lies down, and she also suffers from PTSD. She said: "I'm still very cautious now and I think it is fair to say I have PTSD from the treatment. I didn't expect that to happen to me because I thought I was with a qualified practitioner. All my trust has gone now."
Government crackdown announced
The Government has launched a 12-week public consultation and a crackdown on people performing procedures like liquid BBLs on the high street. The Department of Health and Social Care announced that potentially deadly filler procedures such as BBLs can now only be carried out by qualified medics such as doctors, working for Care Quality Commission regulated providers. Those flouting the rules could face a jail sentence or hefty fines of more than £4,000.
Bonnie-Louise welcomed the news and said: "There should be jail time, not just a fine for these people. If you went up to somebody with a knife and butchered them, you could go to jail." She added: "The new regulations for liquid BBL procedures is very needed. This is a step in the right direction, I believe it's a procedure that needs to be carried out in theatre, a controlled medical environment."
Warnings for other women
Bonnie-Louise urged other women to take real care if they have procedures and opt for a surgeon for a BBL. She described her experience in a salon: "He claimed to have all these certificates and advanced training and they were even on the wall when I went in and I read them. There was nothing to show a red flag."
She said: "I was stood up during the procedure which took about 40 minutes and I know now that I should have been lying down and I should have had an ultrasound... but I didn't. It was so painful I was crying. He said the pain was normal. He said: 'Do you want me to carry on? ...but you will only have one side.' He put me in an impossible situation."
In a message to other women, she said: "I would say don't get it done unless you were under a surgeon's hands. I know that sounds so dramatic but there is so much in a liquid BBL it should not be done by anyone else. It should be something done in theatre, you've got major arteries there and nerves. I didn't realise how serious it was."
The Government's proposed new rules would stop under-18s having risky cosmetic or wellbeing treatments, while fillers are already restricted for children under a separate law. Under the new regulations, treatments that involve injecting fillers anywhere other than the face, such as BBLs, would be legally defined as cosmetic surgical procedures - meaning they can only be performed by qualified medics.
Other high-risk treatments such as deep chemical peels, vampire facials and some laser procedures would be restricted to doctors, dentists, some nurses, midwives and pharmacists. Those who flout the rules could be hit with unlimited fines or fixed penalties up to £4,000.
Health minister Karin Smyth said this week: "If you're planning to undergo a major cosmetic procedure, you deserve to know you're in safe hands - not risking your life with a rogue operator. These changes mean that only properly trained professionals can carry out the most serious, high-risk procedures, and that young people will be shielded from treatments that can go badly wrong."
The Government will launch a consultation asking for input from doctors, regulators and businesses to draw up draft regulations. The blueprint will then go through the parliamentary process, which is currently planned for spring 2027.
