After embarking on various weight-loss journeys, including NHS weight management, Pinky Jolley knew that something needed to change. At 17st 11lb and a dress size 24, doctors gave her a stark warning.
If she didn't shed the pounds, her life would be at risk. Following nine long months of research, the 46-year-old decided to take serious action.
In November 2022, she headed to Istanbul, Turkey, for a gastric sleeve procedure but the two-hour operation turned her life upside down.
"I chose a professor of bariatrics who'd been practising for over 25 years, but from the moment I woke up from the surgery, I knew something was seriously wrong. They kept telling me to drink more, but I just couldn't get anything down," she tells new.
"Since the operation, I've had sepsis four times, plus a blood clot and a hospital-acquired infection that made me resistant to antibiotics, which was all a struggle.
In July, I had a revision from a gastric sleeve to a gastric bypass that was technically a success, but I still can't eat and I'm being fed via a tube in my stomach now."
But while her experience may be shocking, Pinky isn't alone. According to statistics, the number of visitors going to Turkey solely for surgery has skyrocketed from 701,000 to 1.8m in just four years, with 63% of people surveyed saying they do so because of the bargain prices.
For example, the cost of a breast enlargement in the UK is on average £5,500, whereas in Turkey they are half price, at £2,775. Meanwhile, for liposuction in the UK you'd pay up to £5,000, but travel to Turkey and you'd get the procedure for as little as £1,600. In Pinky's case, she raised £2,100, which covered everything from accommodation to flights and the actual surgery. Had she undergone a gastric sleeve operation privately in the UK, the surgery alone would have cost around £10,000.
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