A British mother claims a Turkish clinic charged her £8,000 in hospital bills to save her life after they botched her ‘mummy makeover’ – and then threatened to ‘hold her hostage’ if she didn’t pay up.
Holly Guest traveled to Turkey earlier this month to undergo a tummy tuck, uplift breast implants and liposuction – also known as a ‘mummy makeover’.
The 31-year-old had already undergone successful stomach surgery in January in a bid to lose weight after having three children.
After dropping a whopping six stone in six months, the business owner began exploring further surgery to achieve her dream body.
Mrs Guest, who lives in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, came across a Turkish clinic on Facebook that had rave reviews of its ‘mummy makeovers’ and paid £7,900 for the operation.
But after waking up from surgery, she said she faced a number of complications: she collapsed eight times and had to undergo four blood transfusions.
She was so scared for her life that she thought she would never see her children again after the operation – and was stunned when she received a bill for £8,000 for further unplanned care she needed after the operation.
When she refused to pay, Ms Guest claims staff threatened to block her return home by canceling their flight unless she paid the extra charges.
Holly Guest said she feared she would not see her children again due to post-surgery complications
Ms Guest now faces further operations to remove the three hematomas in her stomach that doctors in Britain discovered
She was left covered in bruises after the ‘mummy makeover’ procedure
The 31-year-old had already undergone successful stomach surgery in January in a bid to lose weight after having three children
Fearing that the clinic could do this because they had her flight number and passport details, Ms Guest claims she rushed to the airport and booked another flight to flee the country as quickly as possible.
She now faces further operations to remove the three hematomas in her stomach that doctors in Britain discovered.
“I had a gastric sleeve in January at another company in Turkey and I had no problems,” she says.
‘After losing a lot of weight, I felt insecure, like most women, and even though my husband said I didn’t need it, I still felt that way.
‘I thought I just needed a little lipo, but the surgeons in Turkey said I needed a full tummy tuck.
‘I found this clinic on Facebook and there were lots of great reviews. Only after the operation did I realize that these were all fake profiles created by the clinic itself.
‘I was very excited to start it. It was a state-of-the-art hospital and the care would be second to none.
‘When I woke up after the operation and had my catheter taken out, I got up to go to the toilet and collapsed. This happened another eight times. I had mini fits.
‘They said my blood values were low and that I needed a blood transfusion. I had four or five blood transfusions, which was pointless because I wasn’t losing much blood.
‘I was also taken for an ultrasound, but they blamed it on my liver and gallbladder, but I have no problems with my liver.’
The mother of three said her husband ‘walked into my room thinking I was dead’ after surgery
She said: ‘For 48 hours I really didn’t think I was going to get home to my kids. I thought this was my life over. My husband came into my room and thought I was dead.
‘It was absolutely terrible. I didn’t think I would get out. My husband was absolutely petrified.
‘After my blood transfusions I felt a little better. I was told the transfusions cost £350 each and was given this ridiculous bill. I received a bill for £8,770 (after my surgery) which consisted of several things.
‘One of them was a consultation for a general operation that I did not have. A doctor came in and asked if I was in pain and then left. There have been no discussions about additional costs. We had to pay that bill and they’re still trying to say I owe them another £5,000.’
Ms Guest said she received a call from the clinic demanding more money for her treatment or they would ‘cancel her flight’.
“They said they could cancel our flight and keep us in the country. I thought “no, they can’t do that”.
“Even though my husband told me I didn’t need it, I still felt like I did,” she said of the surgery
‘And then I remembered they had my flight number and passport details, so I sat there thinking they must be able to do it.
‘I finally hung up the phone and booked a new flight. We didn’t want to get stuck in Turkey. It scared us enough to book another flight.
‘I went home a day early because the clinic threatened to keep us in the country if I didn’t pay more money.
‘We were sitting there abroad thinking that if we arrived tomorrow and someone was waiting for us at the airport, we were screwed.
‘It was a matter of literally putting everything in a bag and getting out of there every now and then. We ended up missing that flight and had to rebook a new flight for three hours.
‘I think it’s disgusting that they threatened something like that. We were almost held hostage. We have children at home. It was bad enough that they thought their mother wouldn’t come home.
“We were lucky enough to be able to book a flight, but some people wouldn’t have been able to do that.”
The mother was told she had three hematomas in her stomach and will have to undergo private surgery to remove the lump
‘I’m still very swollen. I regret this. I can barely leave the house, I still feel so bad. Just think twice before having this surgery,” she said
After returning home, Mrs Guest started feeling unwell and noticed a small lump the size of a football on her stomach.
The mother was told she had three hematomas in her stomach and will have to undergo private surgery to remove the lump.
She said: ‘I can’t even stand up straight four weeks later. I get all this pain on one side of my stomach. The hematomas should have been drained in Turkey, but now it is very hard and hardened.
‘Because of the size of one of the hematomas, I am at risk for sepsis. It’s a month later and it still hasn’t shrunk. I have to pay for another operation to remove it.
‘I’m still very swollen. I regret this. I can barely leave the house, I still feel so bad. Think twice before having this surgery,” she warned others.
“Your life isn’t worth going abroad and saving some money.”