A trainee lawyer who says she was left lumpy and lopsided from a botched liposuction procedure is suing a top Knightsbridge plastic surgeon for £75,000.
Anna Sabreze, 49, claims she was promised a ‘perfect Instagramable body’ after going to Dr Mike Comins’ clinic in the swanky London district to have her body fat reduced in January 2020.
But instead she ended up with ‘unevenness, prominent dimples, scarring and an asymmetrical body shape’, London’s High Court heard.
Ms Sabreze was ‘not happy with the result’ after she paid £5,850 for the Vaser Liposuction, a high-tech combination of traditional liposuction and ultrasound waves.
She is now suing Dr Comins and two specialist cosmetic surgery companies, claiming tens of thousands of pounds for revision surgery and damages for physical and psychological injuries she says she suffered.
During a pre-trial hearing last week, Mr Justice Ritchie told the court that Ms Sabreze claims that before agreeing to the surgery she was given an ‘assurance’ that ‘a perfect Instagram body was possible’ through this procedure.
But lawyers for Dr Comins and the other defendants are fighting the claim, denying making the promise and insisting that Ms Sabreze was given a ‘warning’ that she might be left ‘lumpy’ by the procedure, but went ahead anyway.
Vaser liposuction is an invasive procedure, which is used to change the contours and shape of the body through the removal of persistent fat deposits.
Specialised technology sends out ultrasonic frequency waves to break down fat cells, before the plastic surgeon removes excess fat through the liposuction procedure.
The court heard that Ms Sabreze, who describes herself as a student barrister on her LinkedIn page, underwent the Vaser liposuction on January 10, 2020, with Dr Comins carrying out the procedure.
But shortly afterwards, she complained that she was ‘not happy with the results’ and claimed she had been left with ‘unevenness and prominent dimples,’ the judge said.
He went on to explain that Ms Sabreze says she had been given an ‘assurance that a perfect Instagrammable body was possible,’ but that she was left disfigured and traumatised.
‘She says she has been left with an asymmetrical body shape, significant scarring and has suffered a psychological impact,’ he added.
‘She says that, had she been given the appropriate information, she would not have had the surgery at all.’
Ms Sabreze is suing under contract law, claiming that she was not given sufficient information about the risks of the procedure for her to have given informed consent.
However, lawyers for Dr Comins deny any wrongdoing and say that Ms Sabreze was told of the potential risk in a ‘warning email’ before the surgery took place.
The defendants say she was clearly told that the possible ‘side effects and risks’ of her having the Vaser surgery included ‘lumpiness, scarring, dimpling, contour irregularity and laxity of skin’.
They also claim she was told that her ‘expectations’ for the procedure needed to be lowered.
The pre-trial hearing adjourned after half a day in court and the case is now set to return for trial at a later date.
Lawyers for the defendants said outside court that the claim is valued at around £75,000.
On his social media, Dr Comins is described as an ‘Award Winning Vaser Liposuction Surgeon’ with ’21 Years Of Experience.’
The website for his Knightsbridge clinic describes how Dr Comins introduced the Vaser technique to the UK in 2008.
It adds: ‘His ongoing contributions to medical aesthetics, especially in body sculpting, have earned him global recognition as a foremost authority on VASER Liposuction.
‘With a commitment to innovation and excellence, Dr Comins has performed over 5,000 VASER liposuction treatments in the past 16 years’.