It was literally like a butcher's shop

Mum tells Sophie Halle-Richards how after tummy tuck surgery in Turkey she collapsed on plane home, ended up in intensive care and was told she was fourth patient in a week seen by the hospital

- SOPHIE HALLE-RICHARDS

 

WHEN Louise Bradley stepped off the plane in Turkey, she couldn't wait for her new life to begin.

After four years of waiting on the NHS, she was delighted when a clinic on the Aegean coast offered her the gastric sleeve procedure she wanted.

The mum-of-two, from Whalley Range, developed arthritis as a result of being overweight, and she found it too painful to exercise. She was convinced travelling abroad for surgery was her only option.

But, following the procedure in May last year, which she had paid around £2,000 for, her health took a drastic turn for the worse with her ending up in intensive care after she arrived back home in Manchester.

The 33-year-old will now have to eat and drink through a tube for the rest of her life, and is in and out of hospital with complications.

Louise revealed her horror experience to the M.E.N. in the wake of the death of a loving mum-of-three from Oldham, who died in Turkey earlier this month, as she warned other people about the dangers of booking surgery abroad.

Leanne Leary, 38, suffered two heart attacks after undergoing a gastric sleeve procedure at a clinic in Istanbul, an inquest opening heard at Rochdale Coroners Court.

Her death comes after the Foreign Office issued an urgent warning to those travelling abroad for surgery, as at least 24 British nationals are known to have died in Turkey since January 2019 following medical procedures.

"The cosmetic surgery, medical and dental tourism industry is almost entirely unregulated, and this has potential risks for those travelling out of the UK," the Foreign Office said. "Existing information about travelling abroad for treatment is variable and there is no authoritative and trustworthy single source of information." Tany thanks.