Woman begs for death after botched tummy tuck left her rotting

A woman who went to Turkey for a tummy tuck surgery has revealed how the botched operation has left her in so much pain and wanting to die due to the pain and disfigurement.

According to a report by ITV, Sara Platt, 33, from South Wales, had an operation in Turkey to reduce the size of her stomach. She lost 12 stone, but was left with excess skin, causing sores and an unpleasant smell, as it rubbed together.

Her only option to get rid of the skin was further surgery, but as she was not able to have the operation on the NHS, she said getting it done privately would cost around £33,000 in the UK.

Looking for a cheaper option, she researched and found a surgeon in Turkey, who had numerous five-star reviews who would perform the loose skin removal as well as a breast uplift and implants, all for £15,000. 

In addition to the price of the operation, Sara was lured in by the promise that she’d be able to recover from the extensive work under the Turkish sun.

However, this was not the case, and instead, she was left to rot in a dingy hotel room because of botched surgery, which has led to her requiring nine corrective surgeries on the NHS, as well as permanent disfigurement that at one point left her hospitalised.

Previously speaking about the surgery, she said: “My body is mutilated: I’ve got two holes in my stomach, I’ve got no boobs, I’ve got a hump on my back and I’m in constant pain. What happened over there has ruined my life.”

She added: “Surgery in the UK would be £33,000, which was beyond my means.

“I found a place where it would cost £15,000 in Turkey. It wasn’t the cheapest, but the clinic and the surgeon had plenty of five-star reviews although I have since found out they were almost certainly fake.”

She flew to Turkey for the operation in February 2023, but realised as soon as she woke up from the 13-hour procedure that something was wrong.

She has said she was in horrific pain, and couldn’t breathe as the surgeon had taken so much skin that she couldn’t expand her lungs.

Speaking to ITV, she said: “I remember coming round and my Dad being by the side of me and saying, ‘you need to breathe Sara, you need to breathe’. There were loads of nurses around me and I was like ‘kill me, tell them to kill me, Dad, you need to tell them to kill me. I can’t do this, you need to tell them’.”

According to the mother-of-four, the pain was so intense she had never experienced anything like it before, and “wanted to die” because she “couldn’t deal” with it.

Sara continued to feel ill and was still suffering immensely nine days after the surgery, at which point, she asked her husband to help her remove the bandages, which they did in the hotel bathroom.

What happened next left her horrified. Brown liquid was seeping from her body, leaving her feeling like she was “coming apart”.

The surgeon decided to perform a further procedure on the 33-year-old, but this time, it was performed in what she believes was a beautician’s clinic and only local anaesthetic was used, meaning Sara was awake while the work was being done.

She told ITV that the surgeon was handed a “burning tool” and that she could feel the burning sensation on her stomach, an experience that made her feel like her skin was on fire, and one that she says will forever haunt her. 

Sara was provided with a fit-to-fly certificate following this procedure, and she returned to South Wales, where she went to A&E. 

The UK on call Consultant Plastic Surgeon, Professor Iain Whitaker, has described Sara’s case as “devastating”.

He reports that she was suffering from significant infection and had lots of dead tissue.

In fact, the situation was so serious that a delay in care could have created a chance of mortality, he said.

According to Sara: “I also discovered I had contracted MDRO [multidrug-resistant organisms] from the dirty implements used.”

She spent more than eight weeks in hospital, undergoing nine surgeries in an attempt to repair the damage and save her life.

But despite the best efforts of NHS doctors, she has been left with holes in her stomach and lumps under her skin where fatty tissue has died.

“The trauma is so huge that I have endless nightmares and PTSD,” she said. “I would do anything to turn back the clock.”

Sara lost her right breast, and was left with significant scarring around her body, including a wound on her stomach left from a skin graft. In addition, the work has left her with limited mobility. 

During ITV’s coverage, the broadcaster followed Sara as she underwent her tenth corrective operation, which helped close the gap left on her stomach from the skin graft, and will hopefully increase her mobility and reduce her level of pain.

In addition to the physical pain caused by the botched work, realisation that she’d undergone a near death experience, and that she will be disfigured for life also badly affected Sara mentally.

At one point, she endured a period of psychosis, during which she was admitted to an in-patient mental health unit.

Describing the whole process, Sara told ITV that it has “destroyed” her, her family, and her whole future, leaving her feeling like “a shell”, and not feeling like herself anymore.

She has shared her story because she wanted to warn people about the potential consequences of having cosmetic procedures abroad, in the hopes of helping people.