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A Frenchman has committed suicide after his beard transplant in Turkey was botched by an estate agent posing as a surgeon, his heartbroken father claims.
Mathieu Vigier Latour traveled to Istanbul in March for the transplant, which cost him €1,300 – a fifth of the price he would receive in France.
But the treatment caused him to lose 1,000 hair transplants, while 4,000 were transferred from his head to his face.
After the operation, the business student’s beard was irregularly shaped, growing at an unnatural angle and resembling a “hedgehog,” his father said.
Additionally, Latour, 24, suffered burns after the procedure and had trouble sleeping due to the discomfort.
Mathieu Vigier Latour after his failed transplant in Istanbul, carried out by a real estate agent posing as a surgeon
Latour before his operation. The student tragically took his own life after the procedure permanently damaged his scalp
The treatment left the Frenchman’s beard with an irregular shape and growing at an unnatural angle
He later discovered that the man who performed his transplant was not in fact a qualified surgeon, but a real estate agent Telegraph reported.
As a result of his botched surgery, Latour fell into a ‘vicious cycle’ and suffered from dysmorphic disorder, a condition in which people are obsessed with flaws in their appearance.
A Belgian specialist who tried to correct the procedure said his scalp would never recover where the grafts were lost.
Three months after going to Turkey for the transplant, he finally took his own life.
Latour’s father is now campaigning to raise awareness about the risks of apparently cheap health tourism.
He said it would be “a tribute to Mathieu” if his son’s harrowing experience could help prevent similar tragedies from happening again.
- For support, call Samaritans toll-free on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org