Kerri Waldron
A personal trainer says she regrets not practicing what she preaches and going to Turkey for a liposuction that nearly killed her.
Emma Donohoe, 41, routinely shares inspirational stories of her clients’ weight loss successes following diet and exercise on social media.
However, when battling body image issues herself, she opted to fly out to Turkey for a £2,800 liposuction on two areas of her stomach after finding a clinic on social media.
But the mother-of-three, who lives in Liverpool, said she felt like she was ‘dying’ after waking up from the two-hour operation in April.
And after arriving back home in the UK, Ms Donohoe noticed her stomach had swollen significantly.
Emma Donohoe, 41, routinely shares inspirational stories of her clients’ weight loss success following diet and exercise on social media
However, when battling body image issues herself, she opted to fly out to Turkey for a £2,800 liposuction on two areas of her stomach after finding a clinic on social media
However, instead of a tighter tum, the personal trainer was left ‘black and blue’ from the op and later developed sepsis which she said nearly killed her
She then rushed herself to A&E after, during a massage, her masseuse noticed pockets of fluid across her abdomen.
NHS medics then told her she had sepsis and needed surgery to drain the collections of ‘infected fluid’ in her body.
Now, Ms Donohoe wants to warn others about the dangers of going under the knife abroad.
She is part of growing trend of Brits who have been ‘botched’ after undergoing cosmetic or weight-loss ops in overseas medical tourism hubs like Turkey.
The latest data suggested 324 Brits have needed medical treatment or corrective surgery after having gone under the knife overseas since 2018 to an estimated cost to the NHS of £4.8million.
Ms Donohoe, speaking after her ordeal said: ‘I feel lucky to be alive. I can’t thank the hospital enough for saving my life. I could’ve left my kids without a mum, it’s a horrible thought.
‘I would tell other people to think long and hard about getting surgery abroad. Can you get rid of your problem with diet and exercise? Do your research and don’t go into it light-heartedly.’
She said she had been inspired to look at liposuction, a procedure where medics suck fat out from areas of the body, after failing to shift some excess flab from her belly.
‘I had some stubborn areas of fat on my stomach that I just could not get rid of. I didn’t want anything major like a mummy makeover, just two areas of liposuction,’ she said.
‘I found the clinic on social media. I did some research and read all their reviews which looked amazing. We started communicating back and forth and I decided to book it in for April.
‘I didn’t know it was a major surgery or the pain I would be in. I thought I would walk away with a flat stomach. They told me I needed [liposuction on] my love handles areas too and told me it was an extra £700.’
Like many other Brits who have been botched abroad she said she felt like the procedure, and its risks, before going under the knife.
Not only did she suffer complications from the procedure but has also been left with an unsatisfactory ‘lump’ on her stomach
Now, Ms Donohoe wants to warn others about the dangers of going under the knife abroad
‘I didn’t really have a consultation before or was told the pros and cons and what could go wrong,’ she said.
After the op Ms Donohoe said she awoke to find herself ‘black and blue’.
‘When I woke up I felt like I was dying. My body was like going into convulsions. I felt like I was being stabbed over and over again in my stomach,’ she said.
‘They had me on paracetamol and ibuprofen even though I’d just had major surgery. They gave me some stronger pain relief but didn’t tell me what it was.’
‘They didn’t give me a “fit to fly” certificate or give me any emergency numbers, they just wanted rid of me as soon as possible.’
But her ordeal wasn’t over and after arriving home Ms Donohoe noticed her stomach was swollen and rushed herself to A&E on the advice of a masseuse who noticed collections of fluid underneath the skin of her stomach.
Medics then told her she had sepsis and would need to under the knife again in order to drain a litre of infected fluid in her body.
She said: ‘They said luckily my organs weren’t perforated but I had three massive collections of infected fluid in my stomach and they need to get it out as fast as possible.
‘It took eight days for my drains to run completely clear. I’m still in a lot of pain now. I thought I was going to be able to wear belly tops and be comfortable in a bikini, but I have a lump on my stomach.
‘It looks nothing like what I wanted. I’ve been botched. I can’t feel my ribs – they’re completely numb. I really regret this surgery – I should’ve had it done in the UK where there is proper aftercare.’
Data, collected from an audit of British cosmetic surgeons shows the number of Brits needing extensive care in the UK as a result of having surgery overseas has surged 94 per cent in just three years. The majority, 80 per cent, had ops in Turkey.
Brits who head abroad for cut-price surgery are coming home with life-threatening infections, implants bursting through the skin and blood clots.
Some are even returning with antibiotic-resistant bugs, medics have warned.
Standards for techniques like liposuction differ substantially between the UK and Turkey.
Liposuction that offers to remove up to 15 litres of fat, BBL’s, eye colour changing laser treatments and hymenoplasties are all offered in clinics across Turkey
The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons analysed 324 cases of Brits needing medical treatment or corrective surgery after having gone under the knife overseas since 2018
In Britain surgeons will typically only remove three litres of fat in a single sitting and will also refuse to perform liposuction on obese patients.
Whereas in Turkey some surgeons will offer extreme or mega liposuctions removing as much as 15 litres of flab and perform the op on patients British medics would deem unfit.
It’s also much cheaper, some Turkish providers offer liposuction for as little as £1,600 nearly three times less than
While cases like Ms Donohoe’s are horrific other Brits have suffered worse fates as result of going under the knife overseas.
At least 25 Brits have died as a result of medical tourism trips to Turkey since January 2019, according to the Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Six of those deaths have occurred since 2023.
Surgery safety campaigners warning Brits against going for cosmetic ops overseas have described being asked to pay in cash as a ‘massive red flag’ of a potential poor provider.
Ms Donohoe’s story comes after the doctor’s union, the British Medical Association said more Brits are dying or requiring emergency care in the UK after jetting abroad for cut-price obesity surgery.
The crisis is fuelling delays for routine care, such as hip and knee replacements, in the UK as these health tourists are increasingly occupying NHS beds, the union’s annual meeting heard.
Source: bing.com
