A MUM claims a Turkey clinic charged her £8,000 to ‘save her life’ after they botched her ‘mummy makeover’ op.
Holly Guest claims staff at the clinic threatened to “hold her hostage” if she didn’t pay up.
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The 31-year-old travelled to Turkey last month to undergo a tummy tuck, breast implants with uplift, and liposuction.
She had already undergone a successful weight loss operation to have a gastric sleeve fitted in January in a bid to lose weight after having three children.
After dropping a whopping six stone in six months, the business owner began researching further surgeries to achieve her dream body.
Holly, who lives in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, stumbled upon one Turkish clinic on Facebook that had glowing reviews of its ‘mummy makeovers’ and paid £7,900 for the operation.
However, after waking up from surgery, the mum claims she faced a number of complications – collapsing eight times and undergoing four blood transfusions.
Holly was so scared for her life that she believed she would never see her children again.
And she was stunned when she was hit with an £8,000 bill for further unplanned care she needed after the operation.
When she refused to pay, the mum claims staff threatened to block her returning home by cancelling their flight unless she paid the extra charge.
Fearing that the clinic might be able to do this as they had her flight number and passport details, Holly claims she rushed to the airport and booked another flight to flee the country as quickly as possible.
Holly now faces further surgeries to remove the three haematomas (a collection of blood outside of the blood vessels) in her stomach that doctors discovered back in the UK.
Holly said: “I had a gastric sleeve in January by another company in Turkey and I had no problems whatsoever.
“After I lost a lot of weight, I felt insecure, like most women do, and despite my husband telling me I didn’t need it, I still felt like I did.
“I thought I just needed a bit of lipo, but the surgeons in Turkey said I needed a full tummy tuck.
“I found this clinic on Facebook and there were loads of amazing reviews.
“It wasn’t until after the surgery that I realised these were all fake profiles set up by the clinic themselves.
I genuinely didn’t think I would get home to my children. I thought my life was over. My husband walked into my room and thought I was dead.
Holly Guest
“I was quite excited going into it. It was a state-of-the-art hospital and thought the care would be second to none.
“When I woke from surgery, and they had taken my catheter out, I got up to go to the toilet and collapsed.
“This happened a further eight times. I was having mini fits.
“They said my blood count was low and I needed a blood transfusion.
“I had four or five blood transfusions, which didn’t make sense because I didn’t lose much blood.
“I was also taken for an ultrasound scan but they blamed it on my liver and gallbladder but I don’t have any issues with my liver.”
‘I FEARED I’D NEVER SEE MY KIDS AGAIN’
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Holly said she feared she would never see her children again after suffering such severe health issues after the surgery.
Holly said: “For 48 hours, I genuinely didn’t think I was going to get home to my children. I thought that was my life over.
“My husband walked into my room and thought I was dead.
“It was absolutely horrible. I didn’t think I was coming out of it. My husband was absolutely petrified.
“I felt a bit better after my blood transfusions.
“I was told the transfusions were £350 each and was given this ridiculous bill. I was billed £8,770 [after my surgery] which was made up of several things.
“One of them being a general surgery consult which I didn’t have – a doctor did come in asking if I was in pain then left.
“There weren’t any discussions about extra costs. We had to pay that bill and they’re still trying to say I owe them another £5,000.”
‘CLINIC STAFF THREATENED TO CANCEL OUR FLIGHTS’
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Holly said she received a phone call from the clinic demanding more money for her treatment or they would ‘cancel her flight’.
Holly said: “They said they could cancel our flight and keep us in the country. I thought ‘no they can’t do that’.
“And then I remembered they had my flight number and passport details so I’m sat there thinking that they must be able to do it.
“I ended up putting the phone down and booking another flight. We didn’t want to get stuck in Turkey. It scared us that much into booking a new flight.
“I returned home a day early due to the clinic threatening to keep us in the country if I didn’t pay them more money.
“We were in a foreign country sat there thinking if we get to tomorrow and someone’s at the airport waiting for us, we’re screwed.
“It was a case of literally packing everything in a bag and leaving there and then.
“We ended up missing that flight and having to re-book another flight for three hours time.
What are the risks of getting surgery abroad?
IT’S important to do your research if you’re thinking about having cosmetic surgery abroad.
It can cost less than in the UK, but you need to weigh up potential savings against the potential risks.
Safety standards in different countries may not be as high.
No surgery is risk-free. Complications can happen after surgery in the UK or abroad.
If you have complications after an operation in the UK, the surgeon is responsible for providing follow-up treatment.
Overseas clinics may not provide follow-up treatment, or they may not provide it to the same standard as in the UK.
Also, they may not have a healthcare professional in the UK you can visit if you have any problems.
Source: NHS
“I think it was disgusting they threatened something like that. We were almost held hostage.
“We have kids at home. It was bad enough what they had been through thinking their mum wasn’t coming home.
“We were fortunate enough to be able to book another flight but some people wouldn’t have been able to.”
HOLLY’S STARK WARNING TO OTHERS
After returning home, Holly began feeling unwell – and noticed a small football-sized lump on her stomach.
The mum was told she had three haematomas – collections of blood – in her stomach and will have to undergo private surgery to remove the lump.
Holly said: “I can’t even stand up straight even four weeks later.
“I get all this pain on one side of my stomach.
“The haematomas should’ve been drained in Turkey but now it’s very hard and set.
“Because of the size of one of the haematomas, I’m at risk of getting sepsis.
“It’s a month later, and it hasn’t shrunk. I’m going to have to pay for another surgery to remove it.
“I’m still really swollen. I regret this. I barely leave the house, I still feel so poorly.
“Just think twice before getting this surgery. Your life isn’t worth going abroad and saving a bit of money.”
