A YOUNG mum died suddenly after a “botched” lip filler procedure which she had done by a beautician she found on Instagram.
The 28-year-old, identified only as Dilber, had paid €180 (£157) to get the treatment, which doctors believed triggered a fatal reaction.
Her husband Murat said: “Now the little one has to grow up without her mum [and] my life was taken away from me!”
Her story adds to the thousands of others highlighting the dangers of unregulated lip filler procedures.
People have been left with rotting tissue, needing lip amputations, and lumps, and blinded by dodgy jobs.
After the procedure, mum-of-one Dilber, from Vienna, Austria, began experiencing severe headaches.
Murat rushed his wife to hospital, but doctors allegedly refused to admit her.
Despite having severely swollen lymph nodes – a sign of infection – the medics sent her home, claiming her condition would improve on its own.
However, Dilber only became more unwell and was eventually admitted to hospital on October 13.
She died the next day after suffering heart failure, just two weeks after the botched cosmetic treatment.
Dilber’s family has accused the medics in charge of negligence.
The victim’s mother told Austrian media: “We begged the doctor to finally let her in.”
Donaustadt Hospital director Lothar Mayerhofer rejected all allegations in a press statement on November 16.
“There are clear indications of a terrible autoimmune disease,” he said.
“The patient died during ongoing therapy. We couldn’t do anything for her.”
He suspected Dilber’s autoimmune disease was probably caused by the botched cosmetic procedure.
He said: “If there is one lesson to be learned from this tragic course of events, it is that it is dangerous to take amateur medications.”
Donaustadt Hospital’s head physician Regina Katzenschlager said that Dilber had reportedly visited the ‘Instagram beautician’ a second time “while she was already receiving outpatient treatment”.
The beautician, reportedly an unknown blonde from Slovakia, had disappeared after the incident, media reports claim.
Dermal filler products are classified as medical devices in Europe, which means they don’t undergo the same level of clinical trials as medicines such as Botox (botulinum toxin).
Unlike Botox, dermal fillers currently require no prescription in Europe or the UK.
This means they can legally be dispensed and carried out by anyone without the need for qualifications.
However, MPs and professional bodies in the UK have called for the injections to be prescription-only to stop them being dished out so freely.
There should also be a full medical and mental health check carried out before someone has the procedure, they urged.
It was previously decided that fillers could not be injected without a licence in a victory for The Sun’s Had Our Fill campaign.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
However, you don’t have to be a medical professional to be granted one.
The campaign has been calling for tighter regulation of the £2.75billion industry since 2020.
Risks of lip filler
AS with any procedure, getting your lips filler comes with a set of health risks.
The risks of dermal fillers depend on whether the procedure was done correctly and the type of filler used. So make sure you speak to your practitioner about the risks associated with the filler they’re using.
Serious problems are rare but can include:
- infection
- a lumpy appearance under the skin, which might need to be treated with surgery or medicine
- the filler moving away from the intended treatment area, which may need to be removed using surgery
- scarring
- blocked blood vessels in the face, which can cause tissue death and permanent blindness
Source: NHS