A woman is warning others against surgery abroad after almost losing her life over a botched procedure in Turkey.
When Leanne O’Driscoll had reached “breaking point” with her weight, she knew something drastically needed to change.
The 43-year-old from West Ireland had tried various diets before with no results, was 16st 10lbs at her heaviest.
She researched her options and but discovered that weight loss surgery in Ireland but it had a 10-year waiting list.
Eager to get start her new life, the mum-of-three came across a cheaper alternative, costing £2,400, in Turkey – and the operation was available right away.
But instead of waking up to her dream body, Leanne woke up in a nightmare.
“I kept vomiting blood and my body was wracked with pain,” she told Need To Know.
“I feared the worst, but the nurses kept telling me it was normal.
“After one week, I had recovered enough to go home.
“But on the flight, I was shivering cold and before I went to bed, I collapsed and fell unconscious.”
Assuming she was dehydrated, she called her sister after regaining consciousness to get some water.
But when her sister climbed the stairs she realised Leanne was on the floor.
Leanne said: “My sister screamed to ring for an ambulance.
“Once again, I slipped into unconsciousness.”
At the hospital, scans revealed that her spleen had been damaged during the procedure and her body had entered in septic shock.
Due to the internal bleeding, the 43-year-old had to receive 11 pints of blood in an emergency transfusion.
Sadly, there was no saving her spleen and this had to be removed.
After one week, Leanne was able to go back home – and while recovered, the weight was “rapidly” falling off.
Leanne said: “I looked like a skeleton and my colleagues struggled to recognise me.
“One told me they had no idea who I was.
“I felt like a shell of myself and my hunger was all over the place.
“Emotionally, I wanted to eat, but my body kept telling me I couldn’t.”
Now, she’s sharing her harrowing ordeal to warn others against the surgery – especially as it’s her “biggest regret” in life.
She added: “I wish I’d never had the operation.
“I’ll be on antibiotics for the rest of life, something which I almost lost, because I have no immunity anymore.
“Even a minor infection could kill me
“I’m lucky to be alive – don’t make the same mistake as me.”
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