£30M NHS BILL TO FIX BOTCHED FOREIGN OPS
Mirror investigation reveals thousands of Brits have fallen victim
THE NHS spent £30million in the past five years fixing botched plastic surgery done on the cheap abroad.
A Mirror probe found more than 1,000 women a year need operations to correct blunders by second-rate doctors.
Some British patients treated in Turkey claim one surgeon there called Dr Mehmet Kaya has left them disfigured after surgery up to 80% cheaper than here.
Julie Lambert, 60, said she now has deformed ear lobes.
She added: “This has left me physically and emotionally scarred.” Dr Kaya’s clinic insist that he is not at fault.
THE lure of cheap cosmetic surgery abroad is leaving British health tourists scarred for life while landing the NHS with a huge bill to correct the blunders, a Mirror probe found.
So many operations are being botched that putting them right has cost British taxpayers £30million over the past five years.
Many patients are left permanently disfigured by second-rate surgeons they have often not even met until the day of the procedure.
More than 1,000 women a year come back with complications ranging from holes in the skin to wounds that will not heal.
Some have been sent away with just paracetamol and antiseptic cream, despite being left in agony.
Four out of five UK surgeons are now dealing with more corrective cases than ever, with some saying it accounts for 40% of their work. Corrective procedures here cost up to £6,000 a time.
Our investigation found Turkey is the worst place for botched operations on British people.
One surgeon in the coastal town of Marmaris has been the subject of complaints from a string of women who claim his procedures have caused them physical and mental damage. Dr Mehmet Kaya operates from a room above a supermarket and at the local hospital.
Patient Julie Lambert, from Selston, Notts, paid £4,000 for a neck lift, eye surgery and breast augmentation at one of his clinics. It would have cost her £20,000 in the UK.
But the 60-year-old nurse said she “feels like a fool” after being left with a wound that kept opening and deformed ear lobes.
Julie said: “Every aspect of this procedure has left me physically and emotionally scarred. I now have to cover my neck as I have a two-inch hard lumpy scar.
“My ears look terrible and I cannot wear earrings. I have felt reluctant to complain as I needed further aftercare. I am embarrassed as a nurse that I was manipulated by these people and trusted them.” Jean Nuttall, 60, of Chesterfield, Derbys, had eyelift surgery and fat transfers to her face carried out by Dr Kaya for £1,200 that would have set her back £7,000 in the UK.
She said she has been left with one eye bigger than the other and the fat moved to her face vanished two months later. Jean added: “I still to this day suffer nightmares from what occurred in that clinic.” Another lady in her 70s said she was left so scarred after
having arm lift surgery she no longer wears short sleeved tops. And a patient in her 50s told how she is trapped in her home “feeling like a freak” after Dr Kaya allegedly botched eye lift surgery.
British plastic surgeon Saif Ramman warned patients to be wary of cut-price operations abroad as often those carrying them out are not experienced. The
We are dealing with more cases than ever fixing other less-skilled surgeons’ work SAIF RAMMAN PLASTIC SURGEON, LEFT, ON FOREIGN OPS
senior specialist registrar at St George’s Hospital in South London said: “People need to be aware of the real risks when going abroad. Surgeons are dealing with more cases than ever fixing other less-skilled surgeons’ work.
“This is costing the NHS around £6million a year that could be spent on more doctors or nurses.”
British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons president Simon Withey added: “I have seen many people who were not appropriate for surgery, and yet unscrupulous practitioners have endangered their health for profit.
“Affordability is one of the biggest drivers in the rise of ‘cosmetic medical tourism’ deals offering all-inclusive holidays and
the promise of a high-quality service at heavily discounted rates.
“However, these gloss over the risk of post-op complications due to travel, less robust regulations and a lack of follow-up.”
Some discounts at Dr Kaya’s clinic were as much as 80% of what patients would pay in the UK. Breast augmentations are on offer for £2,000 – an operation that would cost around £10,000 here.
His clinic recruits patients though Facebook groups such as Aesthetic Treatments and Plastic Surgeries in Turkey.
The Mirror has spoken to more than a dozen women operated on by him with unsatisfactory results. All said they had tried to contact his clinic but were ignored, abused for wanting “free surgery” or blocked from the Facebook groups.
Julie and Jean are now pleading for help from a UK surgeon to fix their problems as they can not afford the reconstructive surgery alone.
When confronted with photos of Julia’s scars, Dr Kaya claimed the damage was because her “skin was too thin”.
His assistant Dila then told us it was caused by the “patient fitting and moving around”. She said: “It is not the doctor’s fault.
“These women come to Turkey wanting surgery and a holiday. We are not responsible for their
I am left with one eye smaller than the other. It was horrific JEAN ON HER TURKISH COSMETIC SURGERY
problems.” A clinic representative added: “Dr Kaya has many satisfied patients, he does very good work.”
But plastic surgeon Kevin Hancock, of the Wirral’s Murrayfield Hospital, said Julia’s scars are the result of “poor technique”.
On Jean’s treatment, he added: “Everything about the description of the procedure is wrong. Fat transfer is technique dependent. Patients should expect at least 50% of the fat to stay permanently.
“If all of it has disappeared, it is due to the technique.”
Have you had botched plastic surgery abroad? Email: mirrornews@mirror.co.uk