I spent £10k savings on surgery to go from size 14 to 4 but really regret it, I look like a saggy skin-covered skeleton
LOOKING at herself in the mirror, Leah Lazarus recoils at the scars, loose skin and stretch marks on her body.
At 39, she wears clothes for 12-year-olds following complications with gastric sleeve surgery, which she thought would give her the size ten figure she had always wanted.
At 5ft 2in, with a BMI of 33 and a size 14 at her heaviest — the UK average is 16 — mum-of-two Leah was not eligible for the operation on the NHS.
So she turned to a private clinic in the Midlands, spending her entire £10,000 life savings on the procedure.
She has since spent her kids’ nest eggs on trying to correct the problems.
After the surgery, in which she suffered a suspected leak in her stomach, she lost almost five stone, going from 12st 12lb to 7st 7lb and a size 4.
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She says: “Having surgery to lose a couple of dress sizes is the worst decision I ever made.
“I only wanted to get down to a size ten, between nine and ten stone, to look better in smart clothes and bikinis.
“Now, I dress in children’s clothing, mainly pyjamas, and I eat like a toddler — scrambled eggs or a few bites of fish and a forkful or two of rice.
‘I felt guilty and selfish for having the surgery’
“I’ve been left with saggy, loose skin on my stomach and I have to use clear silicone tape to keep it in the right place so I can wear jeans.
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“If I don’t, the skin bulges under the zip.
“I’m skeletal and hollow. I hate it.”
Leah lives with fiancé Antony Beacon, 39, a carer, and their children Savannah, 17, and Kingston, 15.
She is one of many “normal-sized” women who pay huge sums to go under the knife to shift weight that they believe will not budge through a healthy diet and exercise.
According to the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society, up to 7,000 people in the UK have bariatric surgery — which includes gastric sleeve and other weight-loss operations — every year.
Procedures are available on the NHS, but with waiting times of up to 18 months and strict criteria — patients must have a BMI of around 40 or above — desperate people like Leah are stumping up between £8,000 and £15,000 for private ops, often abroad.
At least seven Brits have lost their lives following operations in Turkey.
GP and aesthetic doctor Grace Hula, founder of , believes there are many reasons why women are going to extreme lengths for their dream bodies.
She says: “Societal beauty standards, personal factors like self-esteem, peer pressure and a desire for emotional wellbeing, as well as cosmetic surgery trends, are some factors.
“Many women opt for surgery, whether locally or abroad, to achieve their ‘dream’ body, even without obesity as a concern.
“Weight-loss surgery can offer significant benefits to those with a BMI above 40 and significant obesity-related health issues.
“Individuals with a ‘normal’ BMI should approach surgery cautiously and explore alternative weight control methods exhaustively.
“Surgery frequently involves potential complications like infection, bleeding, blood clots, anaesthesia-related problems, organ damage and scarring.
“Despite surgeons’ best efforts, nearby organs may occasionally be unintentionally harmed.”
Celebrities who have gone down the surgery route to shed weight have had mixed results.
Vanessa Feltz, 61, has spoken about how she regretted having a gastric band fitted after it embedded in her liver and caused a hernia, while Kelly Osbourne, 38, said she was proud of her decision to have gastric sleeve surgery for her self-described “little dumpling body”.
Aesthetics technician Leah, from Loughton, Essex, had her surgery, which she hoped would give her a “Kim Kardashian hourglass shape”, in May last year.
When she woke from the hour-long op — which involves taking away part of the stomach to curb hunger — she was unable to keep even small amounts of food down.
She says: “I knew there could be complications and I went ahead and signed the consent forms anyway as my surgeon told me how great he was.
“I tried to recover at home but just a week later I was in total agony.
“My vision was blurry and I couldn’t walk without help.
“I couldn’t keep anything down.
“I thought I was going to die.”
Leah contacted the clinic for advice.
But she became so unwell so quickly, she went to a hospital in Watford for urgent help.
Medics there suspected she had a leak in her stomach, a complication of the surgery.
She recalls: “The doctors fed me through a nasal tube and I had drips in my arm and tubes coming out of my stomach.
“I was only allowed tiny sips of water.
“My mum had to wheel me to the toilet in a wheelchair.
“I felt guilty and selfish for having the surgery.”
According to Dr Omar Tillo, a consultant plastic surgeon with on London’s Harley Street, the implications of having gastric sleeve surgery for minimal weight loss are huge.
He says: “For someone who wants to go down a couple of dress sizes, a good bariatric surgeon would tell the patient there’s a one in 1,000 chance of dying, a chance of having malnutrition for the rest of their life, and of complications such as leaks.
“The patient won’t feel hungry for a year or so afterwards.
“They’re going to have saggy skin all over their body so that could mean more surgery, such as a tummy tuck, surgery on their upper arms and a breast uplift.”
Dr Tillo says that although Leah’s type of surgery can be extremely beneficial in the right circumstances, there is no going back — but women often try.
He adds: “A gastric sleeve operation can be life-saving for the super-obese, help reverse type 2 diabetes and ease back pain and arthritis.
“But some people have bariatric surgery and come back to the surgeon and ask for it to be reversed as a partner doesn’t like the way they look or they miss a three-course meal.
“A gastric sleeve can’t be reversed.
“There are other weight-loss options available, like fat-loss injections such as Ozempic, and diet and exercise.”
Doctors could not treat Leah’s rupture because of scar tissue around the gastric sleeve which was still healing.
In her desperation, she sought advice from a different clinic, which suggested a half-stomach bypass, costing £6,700.
The surgery was successful but now, 14 months on, Leah is only slowly building up her strength.
She has also paid for injectable fillers in her face and multiple Sculptra filler injections to add roundness to her hips and bum.
And at £545 per jab, she has racked up debt.
Leah says: “I once had a thriving aesthetics business and I was making a lot of money, so I put a decent chunk of savings aside for my two kids so they’d have a fund there if they wanted to go to university or put a deposit down on a house.
“That’s all gone now as I spent it on all these operations and I’m living on credit cards and taking out bank loans.
“The stress of the financial mess I’m in isn’t helping me to recover and put on weight.
“I do have a certain amount of body dysmorphia, just like many women.
“That’s why the plastic surgery and beauty industry exists.”
Leah insists women who are thinking about going under the knife should heed her warning first.
She says: “If you’re considering a gastric sleeve to lose a couple of dress sizes, don’t do it.
“This is a very serious, life-changing operation and for people who are super-obese only.
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“I hate the way I look — it’s only now I realise how beautiful I was before.”
- Additional reporting: Jenny Paul, Holly Stafford
KEY THINGS TO CHECK WHEN PLANNING THE OP
DR TILLO says it’s important to consider these factors before contemplating any type of weight-loss surgery . . .
BOARD CERTIFICATION: Verify that the dietician, doctor or surgeon is board-certified in the relevant speciality. You should check if someone is a registered doctor or surgeon on the General Medical Council’s online register. Also check your surgeon is a member of a relevant national society, such as the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) and the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society (BOMSS).
EXPERIENCE: Look for a professional with substantial experience in the specific treatment or procedure you are considering. Ask your GP for a recommendation as many bariatric surgeons also have NHS practices.
REVIEWS AND TESTIMONIALS: Read reviews and testimonials from previous patients to gauge reputation and patient satisfaction.
CONSULTATION: A good one should be thorough. You should discuss your goals, expectations and potential risks in detail.