today linked a news story about Claudia Adusei, described by the media as “British,” who lost her life in Philadelphia as a result of undergoing a procedure to re-shape her behind. We wondered why she wanted to do this. As reader Sophia A. found out, her real name was Claudia Aderotimi. And as is
in one of the articles Sophia found about her, from the Feb. 10
, the fact that Aderotimi sought to become a hip-hop star by enlarging her rear end with silicone is only the beginning of the story. In addition, the treatment was illegal, because it involved direct injection of silcone into the body rather than the insertion of a sealed implant containing the silicone gel; and the procedure was performed at a budget hotel in Philadelphia where she was staying with friends. I don’t want to make light of the sordid death of a young woman, but the facts make it unavoidable:
Aderotimi is a winner of the
. (Go to the
Tragic bottom implant girl thought having illegal injection would make her a hip hop star
* Dancer Claudia Aderotimi believed ‘bigger booty’ would make her famous
* She was dumped from music video for wearing bottom-padded trousers
* Police quiz woman who carried out the procedure
* Procedure used ‘industrial’ silicone and cost up to £2,000
* Surgeon fled hotel where Miss Aderotimi had op after she fell sick
The British student who died after jetting to America for an illegal ‘butt enhancement’ operation thought having a shapelier backside would make her a Hip Hop star.
Claudia Aderotimi, 20, believed a ‘bigger booty’ would help in her quest to appear in more music videos, her distraught friends have claimed.
One even revealed the aspiring dancer—stagename Carmella London—was dropped from one shoot because directors discovered she had been wearing padded trousers to help enlarge her bottom.
Talent scout Tee Ali, who met the university student when she filmed a video, told The Sun: ‘She was a dancer and choreographer.
‘The problem was she didn’t have no butt, and she wanted a butt.
‘She went to audition for one video shoot wearing fake booty pants and she got all the attention.
‘But when they found out it was fake she didn’t get asked back.’
He described her as ‘victim’ of social pressure to be perfect and thought a larger bottom would make her famous.’
The Thames Valley University student developed chest pains and struggled for breath 12 hours after she had the illegal silicone injections at a budget hotel.
She was taken to hospital but could not be saved.
A preliminary examination found the silicone filler had leaked into her bloodstream, leading to heart failure.
American detectives are investigating whether she was treated with cheap ‘industrial’ silicone, normally used as a sealant, rather than medical-grade material used in breast implant surgery.
It was not the first time Miss Aderotimi had had the procedure.
She is believed to have been treated in November and the latest injection on Monday may have been a ‘top-up’ procedure.
Accompanied by three friends, she travelled from London to Philadelphia for the treatment, thought to have been an early present to herself for her 21st birthday, which was due later this month.
But a day later she was dead.
Buttock enhancement surgery is becoming popular in the U.S., among women who aspire to the shapely curves of Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce and singer Nicki Minaj.
Minaj has become almost as famous for her posterior as for her voice, and rumours have spread across the web that the Massive Attack singer underwent surgery or uses pads to boost her bum, especially on urban gossip sites such as Bossip and mediatakeout.com. She, however denies having had surgery.
The illusion of a larger backside has become increasingly more fashionable among young women since the rise of the ‘Hip Hop Honey’ phenomenon.
A bigger behind has become almost a prerequisite for any aspiring dancer wanting to make it on the music video scene.
But the hip hop industry has come under fire for objectifying women in music videos where dancers—or Hip Hop Honeys—chasing fame can often leave themselves open to financial and sexual exploitation.
And in their desperation to beat off the competition, many resort to surgery to get ahead.
‘Top up’ procedures are only legal when the silicone gel is contained and sealed within an implant. But illegal injections of the material are also widely available from unlicensed back-room medics.
Last night one expert said having a direct injection of silicone gel—long outlawed in the U.S. and Britain, even for breast surgery—is ‘like playing Russian roulette’.
One of Miss Aderotimi’s friends is said to have had the same procedure but survived. Experts warned the silicone could still prove lethal for her in the future if not removed.
Police have searched the homes of the two women ‘doctors’ who injected the silicone and are investigating whether they are part of an organised gang who lure the unwary over the internet.
Last night more than a dozen distraught friends and family gathered at Miss Aderotimi’s home in Hackney, East London.
Her sister Vivian was in tears as she said: ‘We found out on Tuesday. We’re still in shock. We need to think about what we have to do.’
Miss Aderotimi’s mother, a healthcare assistant at Homerton Hospital in East London, said she was too upset to speak about her daughter’s death.
A neighbour said: ‘We are struggling to cope with what happened. One girl died and one girl lived.’
Miss Aderotimi and her friends flew out to the U.S. on Saturday.
She and another woman checked into room 425 at the Hampton Inn hotel, Philadelphia, a mile from the city’s airport, while her two other friends went to a party in New York. They paid around £100 for the room.
Miss Aderotimi had the buttock injections on Monday—thought to have cost around £1,300—while her friend had the same procedure along with a hip enhancement treatment.
The ‘doctor’ who injected the silicone left soon after and was not there when Miss Aderotimi began complaining of chest pains.
Paramedics were called to the hotel and she was taken to Mercy Fitzgerald hospital where she died 90 minutes after being admitted on Tuesday.
Miss Aderotimi was born in London of Nigerian parents. Yesterday detectives raided the home of the woman they believed set up the illegal operation.
Computer files, emails and telephone records were seized from the house in Bergen County, New Jersey.
Emails from Miss Aderotimi arranging the procedure were among the material seized, but police said no formal arrests had yet been made.
Dr Rajiv Grover, president-elect of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, said: ‘Buttock augmentation isn’t a very commonly done procedure here, which is probably why these girls have resorted to going abroad.
‘If correctly done, it involves implanting solid silicone implants into the buttock just like breast implants.
‘The correct procedure would be done in a fully equipped, sterile surgical theatre in a hospital and the patient would be fully anaesthetised.’
He said it appeared that Miss Aderotimi had liquid silicone injected ‘which is not a procedure that should ever be done’.
‘It seems she got away with it the first time around, and it’s true that you can get away with it sometimes,’ he added.
‘But it is like playing Russian roulette. Each time you have it done, you’re risking your life.’
PURSUIT OF PERFECTION
Young women are taking enormous risks in pursuit of a smoother, rounder bottom, an expert said yesterday.
Paul Harris, consultant plastic surgeon at the Royal Marsden hospital in London, warned against going overseas for such treatments.
‘Bottom augmentation is becoming more popular and originated in South America, in places like Brazil,’ he said.
‘More and more people are coming forward in the UK for this procedure.’
Last year a former Miss Argentina, Solange Magnano, died at 38 after a buttocks-enhancement procedure at a medical clinic in Buenos Aires.
Mr Harris said he had dealt with two patients who suffered problems after receiving silicone jabs overseas.
‘The problems are two fold,’ he said. ‘Firstly, if you use a low volume amount of silicone it can promote rejection—the body trying to ward it off. That causes a long-term abscess which can damage the surrounding tissue.
‘Elsewhere in the world it has been reported to cause problems with pulmonary embolism, a blood clot to the lungs, which may have happened in this most recent case.’
The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery says the safety of the use of liquid injectable silicone for cosmetic purposes is controversial, and should not be used outside legitimately approved clinical trials.
