Mother-of-three died after getting offered a discounted BBL just 'five minutes' before going in for tummy tuck surgery in Turkey

A mother-of-three died after being offered a discounted Brazilian butt-lift (BBL) five minutes before going into surgery, an inquest has heard.Hayley Dowell, 38, died at BHT clinic Istanbul Tema hospital in Turkey on October 3, 2023, from complications suffered during liposuction - fat removal surgery.She had travelled to Turkey for tummy tuck and liposuction operations but was offered a third procedure as an add-on during the first meeting with her surgeon just before going into surgery.Coroner Nicholas Walker said though Mrs Dowell, who lived in Eastleigh, Hampshire, had not died because of the BBL, upselling customers and giving them little time to think about extra operations 'will create a risk of future deaths'.Mr Walker said BBLs were 'risky' operations and Mrs Dowell had been ready to go to theatre when she was given the choice of adding the new procedure at a £1,000 discount and presented with a card machine.'Although on evidence Hayley did not die from BBL, this was offered to her and can be offered to others,' he told Winchester Crown Court.'I'm satisfied upselling in such circumstances and lack of time to reflect on consequences will create a risk of future deaths.'Hayley was marked up and ready to go to theatre when presented with a choice and given a card machine to complete that transaction.' Hayley Dowell suffered complications at a private clinic in Turkey after being offered Brazilian butt-lift surgery minutes before going into theatre, an inquest heard Mrs Dowell died after undergoing the surgery at BHT Clinic in Istanbul in October 2023 (pictured is a stock image of the clinic)Mrs Dowell's husband Neil said he was with her when she first met the surgeon, who said he could use the fat from her liposuction in her bottom, which he said was a 'little flat'.Mr Dowell said his wife was 'quite happy with that' but did not know it came at an extra cost.'As soon as he left the room, a young lady came in with a card machine, we had a five-minute window to decide to have the procedure or pay for it or not,' he said.'I don't recall seeing a consent form at all.'It was just in the moment it was so quick. We had to make a quick decision, it was a mad rush.'The coroner said the BBL was offered as an 'afterthought' minutes before surgery and added the pages-long consent form could not have been completed properly in the time.He said upselling of this kind would not happen in the UK because patients are entitled to a 14-day cooling off period.The operation would also have been discussed with the patient 'likely well in advance', Mr Walker added.Mr Dowell said his wife decided to undergo tummy tuck and liposuction operations abroad because of the cost and added it was a 'kind of trend' because of friends who had also had it.'I didn't trust surgery abroad, thought it should be in the UK,' he said.Mrs Dowell previously had breast implant surgery in Britain, her husband said.'I tried to persuade her not to but she was very persistent, she'd done her research,' he added.Medical broker Qunomedical organised the hotel, clinic and surgeon for around €7,000 (£6,000) and the couple booked their own flights.Mr Dowell also booked a procedure for his teeth while they were in Turkey.The couple arrived the evening before Mrs Dowell's operation - October 1 - and were taken to the clinic for blood tests and paperwork, which included a list of risks.Mr Dowell said his wife was not given a copy of the signed documents to take to her hotel room before the operation the next day.After four hours of surgery Mr Dowell was told his wife was well but the surgeon later said Mrs Dowell had become very unwell and suffered two cardiac arrests.The surgeon then told Mr Dowell: 'You should say your goodbyes.'Mr Dowell told an inquest hearing in 2024 that his wife's surgeon had left the operating theatre half-way through the operation and left the anaesthetist to finish the procedure.'It should have been a six hour operation but it wound down to one hour 45 [minutes],' he said at the time.'The surgeon left halfway through the operation and left the anaesthetist to do the job. You can't do both at the same time.'At the latest hearing, Mr Walker said he made no findings about the surgery or the surgeon's competence and added the family's outstanding questions may be answered by ongoing legal action in Turkey.Though the clinic was an interested person at the inquest, no one from the company gave evidence.On its website, BHT Clinic states it welcomes international patients and boasts of having 'the technological infrastructure and equipment available only in Turkey and in a limited number of centres in the world'.The website also states: 'We have the mission of "Becoming a World Brand in Health" by applying patient and employee safety in international quality standards based on ethical principles with its medical infrastructure.'Mrs Dowell was described as a fun-loving woman who adored her children and was training to be a dental nurse.Her family told the inquest: 'She's a big loss, she had everything to live for, especially her children, she's greatly missed.' Turkish clinics offer packages including VIP airport transfers in 'luxury vehicles' and 5-star hotel stays with breakfastThe coroner will write to the Health Secretary and General Medical Council in a prevention of future deaths report including to raise concerns over a lack of database on evidence on the extent of this problem.Mr Walker said: 'I cannot be involved in what happens in any other country but I have to look at this with the focus of this country and how those in this country are informed so that their eyes are open when they [get] on a plane.'Expert witness Elaine Sassoon, a consultant plastic surgeon, told the inquest: 'My professional view is, oh dear, this is a conveyor belt, there is no sense as the patient being viewed as a patient, a human being, as a doctor should view the patient.'It's become just a transaction and you just think, because he had no contact with Hayley before, he had no idea of who she was.'She said cosmetic tourism was 'not going to disappear' and had contributed billions to the Turkish economy.'You have political aspects to it, you also have people want to do it. It's not going away and more people do it,' she said.'We can't stop it but what we need to do is set baseline things that will make it safer.'According to the Foreign Office, at least 35 Britons died after elective medical procedures in Turkey between 2019 and last year, with seven deaths in 2025 alone.In the same year Mrs Dowell died, 31-year-old Melissa Kerr also died in Turkey during BBL surgery.Ms Kerr, from Gorleston, Norfolk, suffered a fatal clot which travelled to her lungs during surgery in Istanbul.At the time then-health minister Maria Caulfield said officials from the department would visit Turkey to meet with their counterparts.The Daily Mail approached BHT for comment.