A mum said she nearly died after an alleged bungled operation left her stomach sitting behind her heart.
But against all odds, she survived and is now one of the few people on Earth living with no stomach at all.
Mayra del Villar says she felt pushed into losing weight to “meet society’s beauty standards” before the nightmare began 18 years ago.
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Growing up, the now 49-year-old struggled with health problems, constant asthma attacks and severe weight gain.
Doctors diagnosed her with Class III obesity, and cruel comments about her size pushed her towards gastric bypass surgery, which she believed would change her life.
But instead of a fresh start, the then routine procedure turned into a disaster.
“The idea of getting surgery came about amid a lot of social pressure,” Mayra, from Venezuela, told Need To Know.
“I constantly heard comments like ‘you’re very pretty,y but you should lose weight’ or ‘if you keep going like this, you’re going to end up bedridden’.
“At that time, I lacked self-love and the emotional tools to understand that my worth didn’t depend on my weight.
“A client offered me the opportunity to have surgery through her boss, a supposed surgeon.
“I agreed because I wanted to please others more than myself.”
She claims: “The operation was performed in a hospital and the doctor was not a bariatric surgeon, but a general practitioner.
“There was serious malpractice.
“Several doctors participated, and they made many mistakes during the procedure.
“They injured my pancreas and diaphragm, removed three metres of intestine, and my spleen.”
Things spiralled so badly that after a second operation, Mayra almost died.
Her family were preparing for the worst, choosing her burial clothes and calling in a priest to administer last rites.
But she says a “miracle” saved her life.
She claimed: “Twenty-five days later, I underwent a second surgery, suffered two cardiorespiratory arrests, and ended up in intensive care with organ failure.
“I was on the brink of death.
“My family said their goodbyes.
“They chose my clothes for burial, and a priest administered the last rites.
“But one night, while I was praying, a miracle happened – my lungs began to breathe on their own again, and I was taken off the ventilator.”
She had it at a hospital in her native Venezuela.
Mayra spent two years in hospital beds and wheelchairs before deciding to move her family to the US in search of specialist treatment.
Now living in Miami, she works as a content creator and professional manicurist.
But the battle has never really ended.
She claims: “I spent three months hospitalised, a year bedridden, and six months in a wheelchair.
“I then lived 18 years with constant vomiting, diarrhoea, and pain until I came to the United States seeking medical help.
“Several doctors rejected my case until one agreed to operate.
“During that surgery, they discovered that my stomach was behind my heart, between the myocardium and the lungs.
“Three months later, I had another surgery.
“When they opened my abdomen, they found my stomach completely damaged and had to remove it entirely.
“Waking up and discovering I had no stomach was one of the hardest moments of my life.
“Today I live without a stomach.
“Every day is different – some days I feel fine, other days I feel weak or dizzy.
“My hair is falling out, my blood pressure is low, and I have many dietary restrictions.
“But I’m still alive, and that in itself is a miracle.”
Mayra now shares her journey with more than 630,000 followers online and has a stark warning for anyone considering cosmetic surgery.
She added, “To those considering surgery, I would say that the scalpel doesn’t heal traumas or fill voids.
“The scalpel transforms the physical, but not the emotional.
“If you’re going to do it, see a certified doctor, research it well, and make sure you’re doing it for health reasons and not because of social pressure.
“True change begins with self-love, not surgery.”
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