Kaydell Brown’s sister Leanne recalled the trauma of discovering her sister had died after the operation, ITV News correspondent Rachel Townsend reports.
Kaydell Brown had just celebrated her 38th birthday. After a few difficult years, she was starting to rebuild her life and hoped cosmetic surgery would help. Instead, he killed her.
The mother-of-two from Sheffield made her first inquiries about the procedures to Clinic Expert in Istanbul, who quickly suggested a “Mummy MOT” – multiple procedures including a tummy tuck, liposuction and a Brazilian butt lift.
For several weeks, Kaydell was bombarded with emails, phone calls and WhatsApp messages, depicting before-and-after pictures that Kaydell could achieve. They offered discounted surgery, flights and a hotel along with further discounts if he signed up for multiple surgeries.
Kaydell worked hard to find the £5,400 she needed and traveled to Istanbul with her sister Leanne. Went to the theater on the morning of March 26, 2024 but never came out.
In an exclusive interview with ITV News, Leanne said: ‘She went into surgery at about 9.30 and that was the last time I saw her.
I was in the room waiting for her to come back. I had asked a few times where he was, how long he would be and they kept saying he was coming and then I knocked on the door.
“Three people came in and said, can you come with us please?
“They took me into a room and they just started trying to say, you know, there are complications with surgery, you know things can happen. And I said, ‘is my sister dead?’ And she just said, ‘I’m sorry, but yes.’ .
Leanne was in deep shock. The clinic, it seemed, wanted to take Leanne home.
“They just handed me an envelope and said here’s your money back and here’s your sister’s money. And here is your flight. It’s like, sorry he died, here’s your plane ticket,” he said.
“When you go in and pay, they’re your best friends, but when something goes wrong, you’re on your own, it’s goodbye.”
Leanne was denied access to Kaydell’s body and the clinic arranged a flight back to the UK.
When Kaydell was finally examined in the UK, more devastating news was to come, that large parts of her brain, lungs and heart were missing.
“When they brought her body back, they kept pieces of her heart and intestines and that could indicate the cause of death, but we may not know because they are not very cooperative,” Leanne said.
“They sent a death certificate saying no cause of death, how come they can’t find anything?”
ITV News caught up with the Clinic Expert team responsible for Kaydell’s care. The authorities in Turkey rejected our visa applications so we had to accept a written response.
He said: “No evidence of organ trauma was found. We handed over the body untouched to the forensic office (in Turkey).”
Clinic Expert adds: “It is very likely that parts were removed while trying to determine the cause of death.”
Kaydell’s surgeon was Dr Sinem Singin.
We caught up with Dr Singin but she declined an on-camera interview, but told ITV News that Kaydell’s death was due to known complications related to the surgery and not medical error.
ITV News has discovered that Dr Singin is still performing the same procedures at other clinics in Turkey.
When asked if any review had been carried out as a result of Kaydell’s death, the clinic said: “An internal investigation found no malpractice and Kaydell’s death was likely caused by fat blocking a blood vessel, which can occur during this type of surgery.”
“ClinicExpert performs cosmetic procedures for Turkish and international patients [for] 13 years old. “He performed a little more than 23,000 cosmetic procedures. Unfortunately we have lost two cosmetic surgery patients in 13 years. Two is a very big number for us and for the patients’ loved ones. But two over 23,000 is a 0.000087 death rate. This rate is much lower than international averages in most developed countries and in the most advanced hospitals.”
According to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, the risk of dying from fat embolism from Brazilian butt lift surgery is one in 25,000.
Worryingly, during the ITV News investigation, we discovered that another patient had died in the next operation at the clinic – something he did not disclose when given the chance during an online consultation.
Posing as a potential customer, an undercover ITV News reporter held a consultation with a telesales agent.
The Clinic Expert operator said: “We carry out this procedure every day, at least six or seven cases every day. Even more than that. But we’re not doing it wrong.”
And then, shockingly, he denied there were any other deaths.
“I can honestly say that I have never faced such a serious experience in my entire career.”
Kaydell’s story is not an isolated one. According to the Foreign Office, 28 Britons have died as a result of cosmetic surgery in Turkey since 2019.
Over a million foreigners visit Turkey for medical procedures every year – among them, 150,000 Britons. And the number of British citizens traveling to Turkey is growing faster than any other nationality.
The obvious draw is the cost. Kaydell paid £5,400 for the Mummy MOT at Clinic Expert. In the UK, similar procedures would cost around £15,000, according to Nuffield.
Amid growing concerns about the number of deaths and health complications after surgery abroad, the UK government had previously met with authorities in Turkey to discuss the regulations.
ITV News asked the Department of Health and Social Care if it intended to continue these discussions.
A government spokesman said: “Our condolences go out to the family of Kaydell Brown.
“The UK government is actively working with the Turkish government on how to support the safety of patients who decide they wish to travel to Turkey for medical treatment.”
“We urge anyone considering cosmetic surgery abroad to research the treatment in question, the qualifications of their clinician and the regulations in place in the country they are traveling to.”
The UK government confirmed to ITV News that officials are in contact with Turkish authorities about Kaydells’ death.
As of 2018, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons estimates that the NHS has spent almost £5m on corrective surgery.
A total of 78% of procedures carried out in the UK involved people who had original procedures in Turkey.
Dr Aenone Harper Machin, UK plastic surgeon and BAPRAS member, has seen an increase in patients requiring corrective procedures and explains how many complications arise in the weeks or months following a patient’s surgery.
“Things like bleeding and blood collection are obviously very immediate in the short term after surgery,” he said.
“But things like severe infections, sepsis, skin death from wound breakdown after abdominoplasty, where the skin is incredibly tight, those things are only apparent in the days after surgery.”
Kaydell’s family has heard very little from Clinic Expert since her death. Little contact from a clinic that once bombarded them daily.
They feel anger but mostly they grieve for their sister.
“I miss talking to her. She was strong, she was funny. Anyone who meets her will just say she smiled and laughed,” says Leanne.
“It was the joke. She was wonderful,” adds Siobhan. “She was talented and a good mom to her boys.”
A UK pathologist has now re-examined some of Kaydell’s body tissue. His findings led to an inquiry being launched in the UK and adjourned until early next year.
“Things can’t be hidden anymore and they know what happened now, they’re just collecting that evidence,” Leanne told us.
As of this writing, Kaydell’s family has not received a cause of death from authorities in Turkey.
For advice on surgery abroad:
Outpatient Cosmetic Surgery – NHS
Overseas travel advice – Gov UK
British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons
If you would like to share your experience of cosmetic surgery or procedures with ITV News, you can contact our investigations team at Investigations@itv.com
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