Dark side of ‘jet away for a better body’ business..

Patients ‘risking lives’, docs say

DEVASTATED families are warning of the dangers of cut-price weight loss surgery in Turkey, as British surgeons reveal botched operations are becoming a “major problem”.

Surgeons had left dead tissue inside – they needed emergency surgery

SURGEON NICK CARTER ON A PATIENT WHO RETURNED FROM A TURKISH OP

Thousands of desperate patients are gambling with their health by opting for bargain bariatric surgery, medics say.

Waiting lists for NHS weight-loss surgery are up to five years, while private surgery in the UK costs up to £12,000.

In comparison, people struggling to lose weight can buy procedures such as gastric sleeves and bypasses for £3000 at some Turkish hospitals, including hotels and flights.

But increasing numbers of desperate patients are returning home needing corrective surgery and aftercare, concerned British doctors report.

At a recent medical conference every bariatric surgeon in the room reported problems treating patients returning from Turkey with complications.

Serious issues can include internal bleeding, hernias and infections that require emergency surgery.

Other patients need ongoing dietary support as they struggle with common problems like acid reflux.

Surgeons told our sister paper the Mirror they are seeing a “continuous stream” of patients needing help – with some seriously ill Brits told by Turkish medics to fly home and head straight to an NHS hospital.

Chillingly, doctors warn people are even risking their lives through botched ops and poor aftercare overseas.

Two heartbroken families have spoken of their suffering after loved ones hoping to slim down never returned, warning: “It’s not worth it.”

New mum Khelisyah Ashamu, 26, flew to Izmir with a group of people she met on Facebook after struggling with weight gained during pregnancy.

The IT worker died a week later after suffering complications, leaving her 11-month-old son Cairo, to be raised by his grandparents.

Builder Joe Thornley, 25, died after a gastric sleeve procedure in Istanbul.

The surgeon told Joe’s devastated mum that he had a cardiac arrest, but a post-mortem revealed he had suffered internal bleeding at the site of the op.

And Shelby Carol spent two months in intensive care in Turkey after developing sepsis and will have to be fed through a tube for the rest of her life.

She said she was left “constantly starving”, adding: “It has ruined my life.”

The warnings come after the Foreign Office revealed 20 Brits have died during medical tourism trips to Turkey since January 2019.

Members of the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society are launching a nationwide audit to assess the scale of the problem.

There are also fears the bill for the NHS could stretch to a seven-figure sum, as life-saving surgery for severe complications can cost £50,000 per patient. Omar Khan, a consultant bariatric surgeon who performed two corrective surgeries in a week, branded it a “major problem”. He explained: “There is a perception that weight loss surgery is a bit like a tummy tuck.

“The problem is that when bariatric surgery goes wrong there’s the potential for catastrophic problems.” He added:

“If there is a leak it can cause really severe infections and it needs to be managed quickly, appropriately and effectively.”

The problems were not necessarily a result of poorly skilled surgeons but a lack of aftercare, he said, adding that allowing patients to fly home days after major surgery was “indefensible”.

Specialist surgeon Nick Carter said: “I have had disasters of people who have had emergency operations a day or two after their procedures in Turkey and they have come back with issues. I have someone with mesh sticking out of their abdominal wall.

“One case presented... and [surgeons] had left some dead tissue inside them and they needed emergency surgery.”

It was happening in “every hospital” in the UK, Carter said.

He added: “Every bariatric surgeon I talk to has the same story.” Some patients are encouraged to fly home from Turkey unwell and go straight to an NHS hospital, Carter said.

He added: “I have also heard from patients who say ‘I was poorly and they just pushed me out of hospital’.

“It would be wrong to say that’s happening in all Turkish hospitals, but certainly it is happening in some.”

Patients claim they are booked in for surgery by English-speaking agencies with little-to-no screening for their suitability for the operation. And while some return happy with the results, those who suffer complications struggle to find any recourse against medics in Turkey.

Ahmed Ahmed, a consultant bariatric surgeon and Council member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said he had seen increasing numbers of patients who had bariatric surgery abroad being left with serious complications requiring further surgery in the UK. Sometimes this was due to “a lack of post-operative follow up”, he said, continuing: “We strongly advise patients who are considering undergoing bariatric or other types of surgery abroad to research their options carefully.”

He added: “While it may appear cheaper to undergo surgery abroad, standards and guidelines vary from country to country.”