Mother, 23, fought for life in coma after £1,500 weight loss ‘nightmare’ in Turkey

At least 25 Britons have died as a result of medical tourism trips to Turkey since January 2019, according to the government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Here, MailOnline highlights some of the victims.

Leah Cambridge

Leah Cambridge, 29, suffered a blood clot during a £6,500 Brazilian butt lift operation in Turkey.

The mother-of-three, from Leeds, died just one day after traveling to an Elite Aftercare clinic in Turkey in August 2018.

The trainee beautician, described as ‘paranoid about her body’, paid cash for the procedure after being inspired by photos on Instagram.

The procedure involved taking fat from the waist and injecting it into the buttocks.

But she suffered a fatal complication when fat was accidentally injected into a vein, causing her to suffer three heart attacks on the operating table.

Ms Cambridge’s partner Scott Franks told Wakefield Coroner’s Court that the surgeon who carried out the procedure told him he had ‘injected the fat too far into the muscle and it was going into her veins’.

Mr Franks said when he flew to Turkey after his partner died, Dr Ali Uckan, the surgeon who treated Leah, told him: ‘It’s a gambling game, you can’t see where you’re going.’

Ms Cambridge’s father Craig took his own life in 2021 when an inquest was held in July last year which heard how he could never move on from the loss of his daughter.

Diarra Akua Eunice Brown

Diarra Akua Eunice Brown died at the age of 28, two days after undergoing liposuction at a clinic in Istanbul’s Bahcelievler suburb in October 2021.

She reportedly underwent the surgery to remove fat from her hips.

Although the procedure initially appeared to be a success, Ms Brown ‘suddenly’ became ill while her dressing was being changed.

She died just hours later.

Social media posts from family and friends describe her as a “beautiful soul” and a “good friend.”

“This must be a dream,” one message said. “I still can’t agree to it.”

‘I miss you angel. I’m devastated that you were taken away long before your time,” said another.

Shannon Bowe

Shannon Bowe, from Denny, near Falkirk, died in April 2023 during gastric band surgery in Turkey.

The 28-year-old died during the procedure in which a band was placed around the stomach.

Exactly where Ms Bowe underwent the procedure in Turkey and what complication led to her death has not been revealed.

In the aftermath of her death, Ms Bowe’s boyfriend Ross Stirling wrote on social media: ‘Sleep well my angel, I love you forever and ever.’

Gastric band surgery involves a doctor placing a gastric band around the top of the stomach, creating a small pouch.

When the patient eats, this small pouch fills up faster than his stomach normally would, making him feel fuller on less food.

By encouraging them to eat less, the procedure can help patients lose weight.

Melissa Kerr

Melissa Kerr, 31, died during a Brazilian butt lift in Turkey in 2019, just before her wedding.

Ms Kerr traveled to Medicana Haznedar Hospital in Istanbul in November that year for a buttock augmentation, which can cost up to £3,150.

The psychological wellbeing practitioner from Gorleston, Norfolk, died from a blocked artery in her lung as a result of undergoing the operation.

Her twin sister Natasha, who set up a justgiving.com page after her death, described her as a “pure and beautiful soul inside and out.”

She said: ‘Words cannot describe the pain and heartbreak we are going through, life without her will never be the same.

“We miss her very much and nothing can fill the void we are left with.”

Melissa’s partner Skye Birch said: ‘I will love you with all my heart until my last breath.’

Ms Kerr also worked as a volunteer helping victims of domestic abuse and supporting people through bereavement.

Abimbola Ajoke Bamgbose

Abimbola Ajoke Bamgbose, a 38-year-old social worker from Dartford, Kent, died in August 2020 after liposuction surgery in Turkey.

The mother-of-three bought a package deal from Mono Cosmetic Surgery abroad after getting fed up with people asking her if she was pregnant, her husband said.

Post-mortem examination revealed that Ms Bamgbose suffered perforations in her intestines during the operation, with the cause of death given as peritonitis with multiple organ failure.

Peritonitis is an infection of the peritoneum, the inner lining of the abdomen that covers vital internal organs such as the kidneys, liver and intestines.

Her husband Moyosore Olowo told an inquest he was unaware his wife had traveled abroad for cosmetic surgery, but instead thought she had simply gone on holiday with her friends.

It was only when Mrs Bamgbose called her husband to say she was experiencing stomach pain after the procedure that he discovered what had happened.

Mr Olowo said his wife had visited a private medical practice in Britain for surgery, but added that the cost had been too high for her to undergo the treatment in Britain.

Carol Keenan

Carol Keenan, 54, died six days after undergoing a combined Brazilian butt lift and tummy tuck in Turkey.

The grandmother, from Glenrothes, Fife, paid £7,000 for the procedures at a private hospital in Istanbul in 2022 after becoming concerned about the way her body looked.

Ms Keenan also accepted the offer of free abdominal muscle repair surgery shortly before she was taken to the operating theatre.

But she died before she was due to undergo a final check-up and fly home.

In April, her family told MailOnline they were still waiting for the results of her autopsy, 11 months after her death.

Her daughter Leonie Keenan, 32, said: ‘My mother was a fit and healthy person. She was very small, a size 10, and she kept in shape by walking everywhere and going swimming.

‘She was a very active grandmother who loved jumping on the trampoline with the children, but she wasn’t happy with her body, even though everyone told her she looked great.

‘She set her sights on surgery after seeing stories about other people and celebrities undergoing procedures. I don’t know if it was a midlife crisis.’