Pop star Pete Burns has won £450,000 in an out-of-court settlement against botched cosmetic surgery.

Burns, who was singer for 1980s pop band Dead or Alive, has undergone several bouts of cosmetic surgery, however his lip filler surgery went very wrong. Burns had already had Alloderm lip implants previously however he felt that the filler had failed to provide enough volume and definition and the implants had decreased in size over time.

Burns therefore chose top Harley Street cosmetic surgeon Dr Maurizio Viel to put new lip implants in in 2002. However he suffered from severe reactions to the fillers which left his lips swollen and blistered with discharge and lumps. After the surgery, Burns proclaimed that the treatment had left him looking like he had been ‘mutiliated with a Stanley knife.’

The new implants were intended to fix the issues with the previous implants and to give Burns more defintion and volume. Dr Viel chose to use Outline Original for the implants despite warnings that the product should not be used with other products. Despite evidence that Burns was suffering from an adverse reaction to the new filler, Dr Viel continued to inject his lips with an excessive number of injections over the next few appointments, leading to the Burns’ damaged lips.

Talking after the out-of-court settlement, Burns commented, “As I looked in the mirror it felt like everything I had worked for was ruined due to the disabling injuries I suffered caused by Dr Maurizio Viel.

“I am just glad the case is now over. It is a terrible experience living with the trauma and worry of injury and disability and to have to re-live and recount the details and circumstances of how your injuries happened for the purposes of evidence for the court.”

Since the initial botched operation, Burns has claimed that he has had over 100 operation to cure the issues caused by Dr Viel’s surgery. Burns claims that the lip implants made him feel suicidal and has said that the operation has made him lose his London home and severely harmed his singing career.

Burns’ solicitor has said that Dr Viel admitted negligence on a number of allegations, most of which centre on ignoring the instructions and warnings associated with the lip filler. Dr Viel is said to have ignored the warning that Outline should not be mixed with other products, injected other lip fillers when he had already injected Outline, over-corrected the lips with repeated Outline injections, failure to take into account that no studies have been done about the interation of Outline with other lip fillers, and failure to adhere to the guidelines that Outline should only be administered in minimum time periods of 4 to 6 weeks.

Dr Viel’s lawyer has confirmed that his client has settled the case out of court with Burns and that ‘certain admissions have been made’, however he declined to release further details of the admissions.