A personal trainer says she regrets not practising what she preaches and going to Turkey for liposuction that nearly killed her.
Emma Donohoe, 41, regularly shares inspiring stories on social media about her clients’ weight loss successes through diet and exercise.
However, when she was struggling with body image issues, she opted to fly to Turkey to have £2,800 liposuction on two areas of her stomach after finding a clinic on social media.
But the mother-of-three, who lives in Liverpool, said she felt like she was “dying” after waking up from the two-hour operation in April.
And after returning home to the UK, Ms Donohoe noticed her stomach had swollen significantly.
Emma Donohoe, 41, regularly shares inspiring stories about her clients’ weight loss success after diet and exercise on social media.
However, when she was battling body image issues, she opted to fly to Turkey to have £2,800 liposuction on two areas of her stomach after finding a clinic on social media.
However, instead of getting a firmer tummy, the personal trainer was left “blue and black” from the operation and later developed sepsis which she says nearly killed her.
She then rushed to the emergency room after her masseuse noticed pockets of fluid in her abdomen during a massage.
NHS doctors then told her she had sepsis and needed surgery to drain build-ups of “infected fluid” in her body.
Now, Ms Donohoe wants to warn others about the dangers of undergoing surgery abroad.
She is part of a growing trend of Britons who have been “failed” after undergoing cosmetic or weight-loss surgery in foreign medical tourism resorts such as Turkey.
The latest figures suggest that 324 Britons have needed medical treatment or corrective surgery after undergoing surgery abroad since 2018, at an estimated cost to the NHS of £4.8m.
Mrs Donohoe, speaking after her ordeal, said: “I feel lucky to be alive. I can’t thank the hospital enough for saving my life. I could have left my children without a mother – it’s a horrible thought.
“I would tell other people to think carefully before having surgery abroad. Can the problem be solved with diet and exercise? Do your research and don’t take it lightly.”
She said she had been inspired to consider liposuction, a procedure in which doctors suction fat from areas of the body, after failing to remove excess fat from her belly.
“I had some stubborn areas of fat on my stomach that I couldn’t get rid of. I didn’t want to do anything major like a mummy tuck, just get liposuction in two areas,” she said.
‘I found the clinic on social media. I did some research and read all their reviews, which seemed amazing. We started communicating and I decided to book an appointment for April.
“I didn’t realise it was major surgery or how much pain I would be in. I thought I would come out with a flat stomach. I was told I also needed liposuction on the love handles area and was told it would cost an extra £700.”
Like many other Britons who have been victims of botched surgery abroad, she said she felt what the procedure was like and its risks before going under the knife.
Not only did she suffer complications from the procedure, but she was also left with an unsightly ‘lump’ in her stomach.
Now, Ms Donohoe wants to warn others about the dangers of undergoing surgery abroad.
“I didn’t really have any consultation beforehand or was told the pros and cons and what could go wrong,” she said.
After the operation, Ms Donohoe said she woke up to find herself “blue and black”.
“When I woke up I felt like I was dying. My body was like it was convulsing. I felt like I was being stabbed over and over again in the stomach,” she said.
“They gave me paracetamol and ibuprofen even though I had recently had major surgery. They gave me a stronger painkiller, but they didn’t tell me what it was.”
‘They didn’t give me a “fit to fly” certificate or any emergency number, they just wanted to get rid of me as soon as possible.’
But her ordeal was not over and after arriving home, Ms Donohoe noticed her stomach was swollen and rushed to A&E on the advice of a masseur who noticed fluid build-ups under the skin of her stomach.
Doctors then told her she had sepsis and would need to undergo another operation to drain a litre of infected fluid from her body.
She said: ‘They said luckily my organs weren’t punctured but I had three huge collections of infected fluid in my stomach and they needed to get it out as quickly as possible.
‘I had to wait eight days for my drains to come out completely clear. I’m still in a lot of pain. I thought I could wear tops that covered my belly and be comfortable in a bikini, but I have a lump in my stomach.
“It’s nothing like what I wanted. They’ve made a mess of me. I can’t feel my ribs, they’re completely numb. I really regret this operation. I should have had it done in the UK where there is proper follow-up.”
Data collected from an audit of British cosmetic surgeons shows that the number of Britons needing intensive care in the UK as a result of having surgery abroad has risen by 94 per cent in just three years. The majority, 80 per cent, had their surgery in Turkey.
Britons who travel abroad for cheap surgery are returning home with potentially life-threatening infections, implants that penetrate the skin and blood clots.
Some are even returning with antibiotic-resistant microbes, doctors have warned.
Standards for techniques such as liposuction differ substantially between the UK and Türkiye.
Liposuction, which can remove up to 15 liters of fat, BBL, laser treatments to change eye color and hymenoplasty are offered in clinics throughout Turkey.
The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons analysed 324 cases of Britons who needed medical treatment or corrective surgery after undergoing surgery abroad since 2018.
In Britain, surgeons typically remove only three litres of fat in a single session and also refuse to perform liposuction on obese patients.
While in Turkey some surgeons offer extreme liposuction or megaliposuction removing up to 15 litres of fat and perform the operation on patients British doctors would consider unsuitable.
It is also much cheaper, with some Turkish providers offering liposuction for as little as £1,600, almost three times less than
While cases like Ms Donohoe’s are horrific, other Britons have suffered worse fates as a result of undergoing surgery abroad.
According to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, at least 25 Britons have died as a result of medical tourism travel to Turkey since January 2019. Six of those deaths have occurred since 2023.
Surgical safety campaigners warning Britons against seeking cosmetic surgery abroad have described being asked to pay in cash as a “huge red flag” of a potential bad provider.
Ms Donohoe’s story comes after doctors’ union the British Medical Association said more Britons are dying or requiring emergency care in the UK after travelling abroad for cheap obesity surgery.
The crisis is leading to delays in routine care such as hip and knee replacements in the UK as health tourists take up more and more NHS beds, the union’s annual meeting heard.