I treated myself to a bargain £4k tummy tuck in Turkey – but was left with rotting, gaping holes that nearly killed me
TO celebrate turning 50, Janet Smalley decided to treat herself.
The mum-of-three decided to splash out £4,300 on a bargain tummy tuck at a clinic in Turkey - less than half the price of the op in the UK.
She opted to have the procedure a few months before her 50th in January and flew out to Istanbul on September 26.
But instead of coming home with a slimmed down frame, Janet, from Accrington, Lancashire, was admitted to hospital with sepsis after the procedure left her with rotting and gaping holes.
Now, the account manager is warning others of the dangers of having treatments abroad, as she said it's something she regrets 'so much'.
Before having the treatment, Janet said she was told they would also have to give her liposuction, which she agreed to.
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After having the procedure, which cost £4,300, Janet said she initially didn't feel too bad because she had been sleeping a lot.
"You're in a lot of pain but you don't know what's normal and what's not so you just get on with it," she said.
"Day three, I was sent back to the hotel and things started getting really bad. I was shivering uncontrollably to the point where my teeth were chattering.
"I contacted the coordinators to get a nurse to come to the room. She did my blood pressure and it was really low but she said 'it's absolutely fine, it's just from the anaesthetic'."
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But the next day, Janet said her symptoms switched, and she was left burning up and sweating.
She was told by the nurse that this was down to stress, but Janet said she knew something wasn't right.
"It was just really scary," she said. "The Saturday was fly home day - I felt so unwell, every little jolt was pain running right through me.
"I pretty much slept all weekend when I got home. I was feeling really unwell but I was thinking 'they told me it was normal'.
"My daughter got really worried and told me to go to the GP."
After the procedure, Janet had been put in a compression outfit, she said she didn't have to undo this as there was a hole at the bottom which meant you were able to use the toilet.
But on examining her, the GP opened the suit - only to reveal, red, swollen blisters.
Just don't do it, it's really not worth it
Janet Smalley
"The GP opened the compression garment, took one look and said 'you need to get to hospital straight away'," she said.
The GP called the hospital and Janet was admitted with sepsis.
She added: "They told me I had necrotic skin and I said 'what does that mean?' and they said 'your skin is dead'. It was really upsetting."
She said she had been assured by the clinic in Turkey that her symptoms were normal, so when she arrived back in the UK, she had waited four days before seeing her GP.
Janet was treated at Blackburn Royal Hospital for sepsis and necrotic skin and spent nine days as an inpatient on IV antibiotics before being sent home on oral antibiotics for another four days.
She still has to go to Royal Preston Hospital on a weekly basis to have her wounds checked and monitored and may need a skin graft on one area of her abdomen that remains necrotic.
Janet said: "I got a couple of quotes locally and it was pretty much double the price of what it was in Turkey.
The signs of sepsis you need to know
Sepsis can be life threatening and hard to spot.
The says that there are lots of symptoms, including those that resemble the flu or a chest infection.
If an adult displays any of the following signs, then you should call 999 or go to A&E:
- acting confused, slurred speech or not making sense
- blue, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue – on brown or black skin, blueness may be easier to see on the lips, tongue or gums, under the nails or around the eyes
- a rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it, the same as
- difficulty breathing, breathlessness or breathing very fast
It's important to note that you might not suffer with all of these symptoms and if you're worried, you should seek medical attention.
"Initially I just went for the tummy tuck but once you get there they kind of up-sell - 'we can't do the tummy tuck without liposuction'.
"I stupidly got talked into having four areas liposuctioned - two areas of my back, my sides and stomach and then the tummy tuck obviously.
"If they'd have said 'as soon as you get home book in and see your GP' I don't think it would've been that severe.
"But there were four days when I got home before I went to my GP and that's four days that it was just getting worse and worse.
"It is healing now a lot better than I imagined now. I've just got one area that's about three centimetres at the top of my hip that's necrotic and it's going to scar quite badly.
"Depending on how it heals I might need a skin graft."
She added that the clinic in Turkey has refused to take responsibility for her condition and have now refused further communication with her.
After her ordeal, Janet had tried to contact them to lodge a complaint.
She claims that she was told she should have gone to their aftercare service, rather than visiting a GP.
"They said they can't take responsibility because I didn't go to their aftercare centre and they refused to talk to me after that. I feel really angry about it.
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"Before you pay them they're constantly there reassuring you and giving you advice but the minute that money gets handed over, they just don't want to know.
"Just don't do it. I'm regretting it so much, it's really not worth it'," she added.