A British mother claims a Turkish clinic charged her £8,000 in hospital bills to save her life after they ruined her “mummy makeover” and then threatened to “hold her hostage” if she didn’t pay.
Holly Guest traveled to Türkiye earlier this month to undergo a tummy tuck, breast implants with lift and liposuction, also known as a “mummy makeover.”
The 31-year-old had already undergone successful gastric sleeve surgery in January to try to lose weight after having three children.
After losing six kilos in six months, the business owner began researching more surgeries to achieve the body of her dreams.
Ms Guest, who lives in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, found a Turkish clinic on Facebook that had rave reviews about its “mummy makeovers” and paid £7,900 for the operation.
However, after waking up from surgery, he says he faced a series of complications: he collapsed eight times and had to undergo four blood transfusions.
She was so scared for her life that she believed she would never see her children again after the surgery, and was stunned when she received a bill for £8,000 for unplanned extra care she needed after the operation.
When she refused to pay, Ms Guest claims staff threatened to prevent her from returning home by canceling her flight unless she paid the additional charge.
Holly Guest said she feared she would never see her children again due to complications following surgery.
Ms Guest now faces further surgeries to remove the three bruises on her stomach which doctors discovered in the UK.
She was left covered in bruises after ‘mummy makeover’ procedure
The 31-year-old had already undergone successful gastric sleeve surgery in January to try to lose weight after having three children.
Fearing the clinic might do this as 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.
He now faces more surgeries to remove the three bruises on his stomach that doctors discovered in the UK.
“In January I had a gastric sleeve done with another company in Türkiye and I didn’t have any problems,” he said.
‘After losing a lot of weight, I felt insecure, like most women, and even though my husband told me I didn’t need it, I still felt like I did.
‘I thought I just needed some liposuction, but the surgeons in Türkiye said I needed a full tummy tuck.
‘I found this clinic on Facebook and there were so many amazing reviews. It wasn’t until after the surgery that I realized that these were all fake profiles created by the clinic itself.
“I was pretty excited going into it. It was a state-of-the-art hospital and we thought the care would be second to none.
‘When I woke up from surgery and they had removed the catheter, I got up to go to the bathroom and collapsed. This happened eight more times. I was having mini seizures.
‘They said my blood count was low and I needed a blood transfusion. I had four or five blood transfusions, which didn’t make sense because I didn’t lose much blood.
“They also took me for an ultrasound, but they blamed it on my liver and gallbladder, but I don’t have any problems with my liver.”
The mother of three said her husband “came into my room and thought I was dead” after the surgery.
She said: ‘For 48 hours, I really didn’t think I would get home to my children. I thought my life was over. My husband came into my room and thought I was dead.
‘It was absolutely horrible. I didn’t think I was going to get out of this. My husband was absolutely petrified.
‘I felt a little better after my blood transfusions. They told me the transfusions cost £350 each and gave me this ridiculous bill. I was billed £8,770 (after my surgery) which was made up of several things.
“One of them was a general surgery appointment that I didn’t have; a doctor came in and asked if I was in pain and then left.” There were 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 phone 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 my passport details, so I sat there thinking they must be able to do it.”
“I ended up hanging up the phone and booking another flight. We didn’t want to be stuck in Türkiye. It scared us so much that we booked a new flight.
‘I returned home a day early because the clinic was threatening to keep us in the country if I didn’t pay them more money.
“We were in a foreign country and we sat there thinking that if we arrive tomorrow and there’s someone waiting for us at the airport, we’re screwed.”
‘It was a case of literally packing everything in a bag and leaving there and then. We ended up missing that flight and had to rebook another flight for three hours.
‘I think it was disgusting that they threatened something like that. They almost took us hostage. We have children at home. It was bad enough that they had to think that their mother would not come home.
“We were lucky enough to be able to book another flight, but some people wouldn’t have been able to do that.”
The mother was told she had three bruises on her stomach and will have to undergo private surgery to remove the lump.
‘I’m still very swollen. I’m sorry. I barely leave the house, I still feel very bad. “Think twice before undergoing this surgery,” he said.
After returning home, Mrs Guest began to feel unwell and noticed a small lump the size of a football in her stomach.
The mother was told she had three bruises on her stomach and would have to undergo private surgery to remove the lump.
She said: ‘I can’t even stand up straight even four weeks later. I feel all this pain on one side of my stomach. The bruises should have been drained in Türkiye but now it is very hard and hardened.
‘Due to the size of one of the bruises, I am at risk of sepsis. It’s been a month and it hasn’t shrunk. I’m going to have to pay for another surgery to remove it.
‘I’m still very swollen. I’m sorry. I barely leave the house, I still feel very bad. “Think twice before undergoing this surgery,” he warned others.
“It’s not worth going abroad and saving a little money to live.”