A British “beauty consultant” is carrying out potentially dangerous cosmetic procedures – many of which result in disfiguring infection and needing surgery – and dishing out medication illegally, without any consequences, found a BBC investigation.
Ricky Sawyer specialises in liquid Brazilian butt-lifts (BBLs), which involves injecting dermal filler into buttocks to lift them and make them look bigger, but at least five of his clients needed emergency hospital treatment after their procedures.
Testimonies from more than 30 women say they were left with serious complications like sepsis and necrosis afterwards.
Although several local authorities have banned Sawyer from practising in their areas, the investigation found he was still practising and still handing out antibiotics without a valid prescription.
He is not qualified to prescribe and the pills are not labelled for a specific patient.
He also offered to inject increasing doses of local anaesthetic without a prescriber present – again illegal – and did not ask for a potential new client’s weight, thus putting her at risk of an overdose.
A BBC investigator booked and paid a deposit for a procedure through his social media page, and despite having advertised that all liquid BBLs would be carried out under the guidance of an “ultrasound specialist doctor”, none was present at his small pop-up clinic.
Sawyer tried to encourage the reporter to increase the amount of filler, recommending a litre – 500ml per buttock. She left without having the procedure.
Plastic surgeon Dalvi Humzah, who sits on the Joint Council of Cosmetic Practitioners, said Sawyer’s actions were “very dangerous”, putting patients at a huge risk of infection and potentially fatal complications.
“Putting that volume in, in one sitting, is risky,” Humzah said. “The buttocks are such a large area that if they become infected it can overwhelm the body and could end in sepsis – or even death.”
One woman told the BBC she had experienced serious complications after receiving a liquid BBL from Sawyer, who had worked from a dingy little room in an industrial area. She said when she arrived, he told her to stand in front of him while he sat on a stool to carry out the procedure.
He started to inject her, but she said the pain quickly became unbearable.
“I was in in agony… my bottom was completely disfigured.” By the time she got home she had swelled up and could hardly walk.
“I messaged him to say how bad I was feeling …he just told me to take my antibiotics.”
By this point, sepsis had begun to set in and she had to call 999. At the hospital, she was hooked up to intravenous antibiotics. At one stage, a surgeon drew on her buttock to indicate where they might need to cut, because the infection was spreading so quickly.
Fortunately, she did not need an operation.
Another client had to undergo emergency surgery after her liquid BBL from Sawyer developed into sepsis.
To stop the infection from moving through her body, surgeons cut dead tissue out of an area almost covering her entire left buttock.
However, there are difficulties in holding practitioners like Sawyer accountable – she was told a prosecution could be difficult because she had signed a consent form.
From a legal point of view, there is little to stop Sawyer from practising. Injecting dermal fillers is seen as non-surgical and is unregulated, meaning anyone can do it.
In September 2024, Alice Webb is believed to have been the first person to die after receiving a liquid BBL in the UK. Her procedure was not carried out by Ricky Sawyer.
After her death, Save Face, a group that campaigns for greater regulation to cover non-surgical procedures, called for a new law banning liquid BBLs from being done by anyone other than surgeons registered with the General Medical Council (GMC).
Save Face’s founder, Ashton Collins, said her organisation had received complaints from 39 women about Ricky Sawyer.
So far, the most effective action has been taken by local authorities, three of which confirmed they had issued prohibition notices under Health and Safety law to protect the public from serious injury.
“But he just moves on to different areas of the country and carries on,” said Collins.
The Department of Health and Social Care told the BBC it was “urgently looking at options for tougher regulation”.
BBC article – Celebrity butt-lift injector who left women with sepsis exposed by BBC (Open access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Arrests after woman’s death from non-surgical butt lift
Botched botox and the UK’s legislative crackdown on ‘cosmetic cowboysʼ
Demand for cosmetic surgery continues to grow