British woman dies after unlicensed cosmetic surgery in Thailand

Londoner Joy Williams, 24, died after travelling to Thailand for cosmetic surgery. She found a clinic online and paid £2,000 for a buttock augmentation – where silicone implants are inserted under the skin. But her wounds became infected. She returned, in severe pain, for a second surgery and died soon afterwards.

Londoner Joy Williams, 24, died after travelling to Thailand for cosmetic surgery. She found a clinic online and paid £2,000 for a buttock augmentation – where silicone implants are inserted under the skin. But her wounds became infected. She returned, in severe pain, for a second surgery and died soon afterwards.

Thai authorities have charged her doctor with causing death by negligence. He is accused of carrying out surgery without a licence – something he denies. He has now been charged with recklessness causing death and could face 10 years in prison if found guilty. The clinic has closed for 60 days while investigations are carried out.

There has been an increase in the number of young women, mainly between 18 and 25, seeking butt implants across the globe, wanting to look like famous film stars.

In the UK, fat-transfer injections start from £3,000 and implants can cost up to £7,000. So women start looking abroad for cheaper options.

Some UK surgeons refuse to perform the procedure as they think the results won’t be noticeable enough to justify the risk, or it is not safe at all as there can be a risk of infection. A key problem is that the implants are not permanent; they need to be taken out at some point. While breast implants are soft, butt implants are hard.

Antonia Mariconda, founder of the Safety in Beauty campaign, has called for operators of cosmetic surgery holidays to be banned from advertising and recruiting in the UK, ” More and more cases of patients being left with adverse effects from unsafe treatments and providers are emerging. We will be campaigning to ban cosmetic surgery tour operators advertising and recruiting for members of the public to go away to countries like Thailand and Europe to have cut price surgery. It is not a well-thought out decision because it is pressured with glossy adverts and time-linked incentives. The premedical questionnaires are not sufficient enough.”