Model Tabby Brown, 38, didn't tell her family she was going for secret BBL surgery and tragically died three days after she returned home to the UK
Model Tabby Brown once dated footballer Raheem Sterling died after BBL surgery
Model Tabby Brown, who once dated footballer Raheem Sterling, died after BBL surgery
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Image: Instagram/Getty Images)
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A Playboy model who dated footballers Raheem Sterling and Mario Balotelli died days after returning home after Brazilian Butt Lift surgery, an inquest has heard.
Tabby Brown travelled to the Dominican Republic for the secret surgery, which also required liposuction, in October 2023 - instead telling her family she was travelling around South America.
But three days after landing back in the UK, she developed a 'fat embolism', the court was told. Her mum found the 38-year-old collapsed at her home in south London on October 13 last year.
An ambulance was called to the property but paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene at 1.30am. A post-mortem later confirmed she had recently undergone cosmetic surgery.
South London Coroners Court heard Tabby had two 'puncture wounds' in her pelvis. her lungs also showed 'numerous small globules of fat' . It was this 'fat embolism in her circulation' that led to her death.
Mum dies after 'barbaric' BBL as surgery staff 'fed her cucumber when she collapsed'
Tabby Brown
Tabby didn't tell her family she was having the secret surgery, an inquest heard
(
Image:
Instagram)
The model, who had appeared in Playboy, Cosmopolitan and Elle, is said to have felt unwell upon her return to the UK but didn't want to seek medical advice and instead took painkillers, according to MailOnline.
Her heartbroken mum Mahasin thought her daughter had picked up a viral infection while travelling and looked after her hours after she first fell ill. Not long later she discovered Tabby on the floor not breathing.
Paying tribute to Tabby, her brother and sister said in a joint statement: "After Tabby's surgery abroad, she returned to the family home and was cared for by our mother, who was under the impression she had picked up a viral infection whilst travelling.
'Tabby did not inform her mother that she'd had surgery. Generally, Tabby was in good health, she was an avid fitness enthusiast and enjoyed weight training.
'She was a foodie, who in recent years particularly enjoyed baking. Tabby had enjoyed a successful career as a model, having featured in music videos of several well-known British and American artists. She was also the face of many ad campaigns for recognised brands. Tabby was well known and well-liked by many personally and professionally.
"She had a big laugh, smile and a personality that charmed many and matched her beauty. Close family and close friends take solace from the fact that she experienced many years in which she lived out her dreams. But we are also saddened by her premature departure, we love and miss Tabby very much and will always keep her memory close to our hearts."
Recording a narrative verdict, coroner Julian Morris said: "'The postmortem concluded that Tabby's cause of death was fat embolism caused by liposuction. Fat embolisms are a known and rare complication but can occur with this type of surgery. The expert concluded that liposuction caused her death, as fat embolisms do not occur naturally. She was fit and healthy, visited the Dominican Republic for surgery and on her return became unwell and collapsed, on balance the operative procedure caused her death."
BBL surgery, which is buttock enlargement surgery, carries the highest risk of all cosmetic surgeries - with more than one death per 4,000 procedures. It sees fat taken from elsewhere on the body and injected into the hips and buttocks. People often travel abroad for the surgery, which is a lot cheaper than having the procedure in the UK, where private surgery can be as much as £12,000 or more. It is not available on the NHS.
The latest Brit to have died following BBL surgery is 26-year-old Demi Agoglia from Salford. The mum-of-three travelled to Turkey for the procedure, which was apparently not carried out by properly qualified medical staff. Tragically she died three days later at a hospital in Istanbul. At least six British women are now thought to have died from botched surgery in Turkey alone.
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