I flew to Turkey to get a new body on the cheap and I was left with botched boobs and rotting skin – it was agony
AFTER having three kids, Kelly Keen was insecure about her post-baby body and booked herself a cosmetic ‘mummy makeover.’
But nothing could prepare her for the horror that ensued after a cut-price surgery holiday to Turkey left her fighting for her life.
Body piercer Kelly, 44, from Cirencester, Glouc, says: “I looked into surgery in the UK but the prices were out of my budget.
“I’d seen celebs on social media heading to Turkey for makeovers and it cost half the price and looked just as good - so I trusted it would for me.”
Kelly, who wanted her 40GG breasts lifted and liposuction, adds: “After giving birth my extra large boobs lost their shape and perk.
“I loved my big breasts but I wanted them to look like I was 20 again.”
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However her botched procedure last October left her with butchered boobs that were two cups smaller and a deadly skin-rotting condition called necrosis.
But as one of the 2.5 million Brits travelling to Turkey for surgery every year, Kelly’s hellish experience is sadly not unheard of.
Health tourism is one of Turkey’s fastest-growing industries, estimated to bring around £3bn to the country’s economy each year.
Brits are lured in by cut price procedures - a breast reduction which costs £8K in the UK is a snip in Turkey at just £2k.
Within ten days I realised I’d been butchered
Kelly Keen
Package deals even offer flights, transfers and accommodation included in the price.
And while some return happy with the results, those who suffer complications struggle to find any recourse against medics in Turkey.
In the UK, all clinics and surgeons are monitored and inspected by the Care Quality Commission, an independent regulator. But in many countries overseas, no such regulation exists.
Shockingly, three British women have died after botched surgery in Turkey since 2018.
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Kelly, from Cirencester, Gloucs., says: “When I arrived in Turkey I was told the surgeon I thought was doing the procedure wasn't available.
“That should have set off alarm bells but I was assured the fill-in doctor was an expert.
“I made it clear, through an interpreter, I only wanted to go down two sizes and still wanted shapely large breasts.
“After surgery my boobs were obviously swollen, wrapped tightly in recovery garments and I was told it was safe to fly home two days later.
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“But within ten days I realised I’d been butchered.
“When I took the bandaging off I was horrified to see my boobs had been turned into 38D teabags rather than shapely 48F cups. They had no real shape and were two thirds their original size.”
Kelly paid €6,000 - equivalent to £5,200 - for the boob job and liposuction but ended up suffering from necrosis - a condition in which the skin and tissues die and which can lead to death.
Kelly says: “The incisions around the nipple and under the breast were infected. Within days there was pus oozing from the wounds.
Within days there was pus oozing from the wounds
Kelly Keen
“On my left breast the incision around the nipple where the surgeon had lifted it and placed it onto a different area of the breast was black.
“I went to my local A&E and was told unless I took antibiotics immediately I’d end up losing the nipple.
“I had the wound redressed and was told to limit moving until it healed.”
Kelly continues: “I rang the Turkey clinic but hardly anyone could speak English and I was told the surgeon had left.
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“I was also told I’d have to pay another 5000 euros if I wanted the surgery repaired as I’d now have to have implants and a rebuild. I was shocked.”
Kelly, who is trying to have reconstruction surgery on the NHS, adds: “My confidence has been shattered and my work suffered. I’d paid all that money and it was agony.”