From stitches sewn so tightly their wounds burst open in the toilet to necrotic tissue from botched operations, dozens of Britons have been maimed by cheap operations abroad.
MailOnline tells the gruesome, never-before-told stories of two brave victims.
By sharing their life-changing ordeals, they hope their warnings will help others avoid the same fate.
Sarah* – The NHS saved my life
Dissatisfied with her appearance, Sarah wanted liposuction on her stomach and thighs in combination with a Brazilian butt lift.
In June, she took the plunge.
On the advice of one of her friends, she booked a trip to Turkey for the procedures.
She paid £5,200 to go under the knife, a sum which included accommodation at a five-star hotel in Istanbul and airport transfer.
This was a fraction of the almost £20,000 she would have been charged for the operations if she had had them done in the UK.
But after her operation, Sarah, from Yorkshire, was concerned about the lack of attention from hospital staff.
“I didn’t change diapers, didn’t see a nurse. I was just laying there in blood and fluid,” she told MailOnline.
“When the nurses came in, they didn’t understand me. I kept thinking what the hell I did.”
The housewife was released just two days after the operation.
And even though she underwent major surgery, she was not offered transportation to the hotel.
When she returned to England, the stitches on her thighs suddenly tore when she sat down to use the toilet – leaving two centimeter sores
Sarah rushed for help from the NHS and was told that the wounds from the operation on her thighs had been stitched up
This meant Sarah was forced to walk a quarter of a mile to her hotel holding a plastic bag connected to the drains from her wounds as bodily fluids leaked out.
“No transfer or anything, we had to walk back to the hotel with our surgical drains in a duffel bag,” she said.
The horror didn’t stop there though, as Sarah was immobilized for two days because she was in so much pain. She spent two days in her hotel bed, which was covered with “puppy pads” to contain the fluid that leaked from her bite.
“Every day I filled a black bag. The room smelled disgusting to me and I was very weak and in pain.’
But the worst was yet to come without her knowing it.
After a painful four-hour flight home, Sarah spent a few extra days in bed recovering.
The stitches on her thighs suddenly burst when she sat down to use the bathroom, leaving two centimeter wounds.
“My legs just broke, my heart was pounding, I was so scared,” she said.
Sarah was taken to hospital by her worried family, where NHS medics gave her an emergency blood transfusion due to her rapidly falling blood pressure.
She was later examined by a plastic surgeon, who was “disgusted” that she was discharged from the Turkish hospital so soon after her operation.
He told her that the seams on her thighs were far too tight to burst easily.
Additionally, because so much tissue was removed, her wounds had to heal “from the inside out,” meaning they could not be re-stitched and required ongoing care to ensure they healed properly.
Speaking to MailOnline, who is still recovering from her ordeal four months on, Sarah was full of praise for the NHS and social services who looked after her.
“Nurses came every day, they were great. Thank you to our NHS, you saved my life.”
Shockingly, she never spoke directly to her surgeon until the day of the procedures.
Sarah saw a British plastic surgeon who was “disgusted” that she was discharged from a Turkish hospital so soon after her operation with wounds on her thighs that took months to heal
Instead, Sarah received text message recommendations from a member of his team about which surgery to undergo after sending photos of her body.
“I said, ‘I trust you, let’s try,'” she said.
Sarah was initially impressed with her treatment when she was picked up from Istanbul on a “nice” bus which took her straight to her hotel, along with other British women who were also there for operations.
This positive impression worsened after he met the surgeon, who said he would mark her up for surgery during the procedure.
Typically, the marking of the areas to be cut is done before the operation and with the involvement of the patient to avoid mistakes.
Sarah eventually got some of her £5,200 back, but says it’s poor compensation compared to what she said was a risk to her life.
Kate* – A Turkish operation left me with a necrotic nipple
Kate paid a small fortune to go under the knife for a series of procedures in Turkey in June.
Admitting that ‘vanity’ was her only reason, she booked an upper eyelid lift, arm lift, breast reduction with lift, tummy tuck and major liposuction all in one at a cost of £15,000.
Despite the princely sum, it is still only a fraction of what the 65-year-old would have paid in Great Britain.
Kate, from the North West, went with a British agency that offered to arrange everything so that the procedures could be carried out in one of Turkey’s largest cities.
“They offered the full deal, five-star hotels, breakfast, bring a friend to stay with you, VIP airport pick-up and transport, massages, the whole package,” she said.
The part-time carer was put together with the idea that she was talking to a real doctor.
Only after the operation did she find out that she was talking to the plastic surgeon’s wife.
While the surgeries initially went according to plan, Kate began to worry that one of her nipples had turned an extremely dark color.
Kate later discovered that this was a sign that it was slowly becoming necrotic from the reduced blood supply.
After the operation, Kate was concerned that one of her nipples had become extremely dark in color and later discovered that this was a sign that it was slowly becoming necrotic due to reduced blood supply.
Kate paid tribute to the NHS staff who treated the nipples, describing them as “fantastic” and admitting that the taxpayer was essentially subsidizing the mistake made by foreign surgeons
But the grandmother was reassured by the Turkish team that this was normal.
She said: “I was told, ‘It’s okay, it’s the graft leaking blood under the surface, you’ll be fine’, it went downhill from there.”
After 10 days in Turkey, Kate returned to Liverpool but became increasingly concerned about the condition of her nipple.
“When I got home, I noticed my nipple was getting darker and drier,” she said. “It looked like it had scabs.”
Kate sent pictures to the agency to arrange her operation, as well as to the surgeon himself, who simply advised her to do it Use an antibiotic cream and moisturizer, which she did for a few weeks.
“Every photo I sent, every message I sent, I was sure it was right,” she said.
Kate even claimed that the Turkish medical team actively discouraged her from talking to her GP about her nipple.
She said the medics told her: “These British doctors have no idea, they are not competent to make decisions about this.”
However, after Kate told a friend about her condition, she was told to see a doctor and contacted her doctor.
He advised her to go to her nearby NHS walk-in center and Kate said staff were shocked at the state of her nipple.
“The nurse I saw almost went hysterical, she made me cry. I was so shocked by her reaction,” she said.
The nurse sent her back to her GP, who arranged for an urgent referral to the chest unit at the nearest hospital.
There, a specialist confirmed that the nipple had become necrotic and parts of it had to be removed.
They added that it was lucky Kate came when she did, otherwise she might have lost her entire nipple.
Since then, she has required weekly appointments, which include applying special vacuum bandages to promote healing.
Kate paid tribute to the NHS staff who treated her, describing them as “fantastic” and admitting that the taxpayer was essentially subsidizing the mistake made by foreign surgeons.
While Kate’s necrotic nipple was her biggest concern, she was also unhappy with the shape of her arms after the lift and the shape of her hips after the liposuction.
She now needs a series of corrective procedures and is paying £10,000 to have them carried out, again strange in Turkey.
Kate admitted it might seem strange given her recent experience, but said the cost of the operation in the UK left her with no choice.
“I simply can’t afford it in the UK,” she said.
She called for more regulation on who can advertise and arrange operations for Britons abroad.
And for those thinking about going under the knife abroad, Kate had some advice.
“Do your homework, there are so many things to pay attention to,” she said.
“Search for previous patients, retrieve surgeon’s medical history.”
*Names have been changed to protect anonymity.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
