Jordan KingPublished on September 6, 2022 at 4:54 PM | Updated on September 6, 2022 at 5:20 PM
Joe Thornley paid £3,000 for an operation that would cost up to £12,000 in the UK (Photo: SWNS)
A young British man has died in Türkiye after undergoing weight-loss surgery that went wrong.
Joe Thornley, from Derbyshire in the East Midlands, was looking for help to lose his 19 stone weight.
He decided to have a sleeve gastrectomy, a procedure in which a large part of the stomach is removed to make it smaller, allowing him to feel fuller faster and eat smaller meals.
The 25-year-old builder opted to have the operation in Istanbul, Turkey, for just £3,000.
His mother Julie told BirminghamLive the clinic “seemed like a nice hospital with a good reputation”.
The family saw no reason to believe anything bad would happen.
However, a few days after the operation, Julie received a call from the “so-called surgeon” informing her that Joe had suffered a heart attack during the operation and died.
Joe underwent gastric sleeve surgery to lose weight from 19 stone (Photo: SWNS)
The family had seen some ‘good reviews’ and thought the hospital was safe (Photo: SWNS)
Julie, 58, believed the doctors until a post-mortem examination revealed her son had actually died from internal bleeding at the site of surgery.
“Because of the aftercare, the doctors didn’t realise he was bleeding,” Julie said.
“I would tell anyone to be very careful where they go, or don’t go at all. It’s not worth it.”
The NHS offers gastric sleeve resection for people suffering from obesity-related conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, but the procedure is hard to get approved on the NHS and, when it is, there are incredibly long waiting lists.
Having the procedure done privately in the UK can cost up to £12,000, so Joe looked for cheaper options abroad.
Joe, of course, is not the only Brit to do this – he is part of a growing trend of people flying to Turkey for cosmetic surgery.
Doctors report that they often have to treat patients returning from overseas who require corrective surgery.
Client cosmetic surgeon and skin cancer specialist Dr Paul Banwell told Metro.co.uk: “Going abroad for cosmetic surgery is not a new phenomenon, but people need to think about it very seriously.”
“Of course, there are many top surgeons abroad who do fantastic work.
“But that’s not the point. What’s important is that the recovery period at home is much more comfortable and you can still attend follow-up appointments.”
Joe, pictured here, died as a young child, aged just 25, leaving his grieving parents devastated (Photo: SWNS)
“Complications can happen with any surgery, no matter who it is. The question is how to deal with them if they do happen. If you’re overseas, you can’t deal with them properly.”
“While low-cost cosmetic procedures may seem appealing, they can lead to patients needing corrective surgery or experiencing complications.”
Cosmetic surgeon Dr Omar Tilo agreed, telling Metro.co.uk that the risks usually come from differences in medical standards around the world, especially when it comes to aftercare.
He said: “Other countries have different standards and different medical associations and organisations that monitor and maintain standards of care.”
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“Following surgery, all patients should be in direct contact to discuss their recovery.”
“Even if there are no complications, the majority of patients experience a variety of expected and unexpected symptoms and anxieties in the first few weeks after surgery.
“It is imperative that these patients clearly discuss these issues with their health care provider and undergo a physical exam to check for any issues or complications.”
Dr Omar also spoke about the dark side of the medical industry, believing the truth is “distorted to lure patients to medical tourism hotspots”.
“Unscrupulous online marketing tactics are not regulated, so the hundreds of positive reviews you see on consumer-facing sites could be fake,” he said.
“What appears to be a luxury facility may in fact be merely an illusion created by sophisticated and aggressive marketing.”
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