An investigation found that a mother bled to death after botched stomach surgery in Türkiye because she could not buy another course of Ozempic.
Glamorous driving test examiner Janet Savage, 54, had traveled to the country to undergo gastric sleeve surgery, which was supposed to help her lose weight, the coroner was told.
He paid £2,750 for a package including flights and the medical procedure through a health tourism company, after his body mass index (BMI) reached a score of 30.7.
According to the NHS, a healthy woman’s BMI should be between 18.5 and 24.9. Mrs Savage was in the borderline obese category.
North Wales Coroner’s Court heard that Ms Savage had been given Ozempic treatment to lose weight at one point but was unable to purchase it privately so turned to surgery to help her lose three stone. .
Janet Savage (pictured) died in a botched operation after going to Turkey for gastric sleeve surgery because she could not buy another course of Ozempic, an inquest heard.
The inquest was told that during the weight loss procedure, surgical instruments were placed inside Mrs Savage (pictured) and her aortic artery ruptured.
He booked the trip in July last year, just 24 hours after first contacting the health tourism company, and agreed to leave the following month.
But after traveling to Türkiye to undergo the procedure at Antalya’s private Ozel Rich hospital on August 5, things went drastically wrong.
Surgical instruments were placed inside Mrs Savage and her aortic artery ruptured.
Coroner Kate Robertson said: “Sadly, during the procedure there appears to have been significant arterial trauma which the surgeon said was repaired (but) Janet went into cardiac arrest.”
Mrs Savage died in the early hours of August 6 last year in the hospital’s intensive care unit and her body was formally identified by her husband Andrew.
Ms Robertson heard evidence, including a post-mortem examination carried out after Ms Savage’s body was flown back to the UK.
Pathologist Muhammad Aslam, who carried out the procedure at Glan Clywd Hospital, St Asaph, found the cause of death was due to acute haemorrhage from the abdominal aorta.
Recording a narrative conclusion at today’s hearing in Caernarfon, the coroner said: “She underwent a gastric sleeve operation in Turkey on August 5, 2023. During the procedure an injury occurred, which an attempt was made to repair.” He died the next day.
Alison Ergun, client manager at Warwickshire-based health tourism company Regenesis Health Travel, said in a statement that Ms Savage had stated in a message that she was “a little worried” about the operation.
They sent him a web link to chat with other patients, to put his mind at ease, and the reservation was made.
But Mrs Ergun said of the operation: “There was a complication and he stopped breathing in the first few minutes of the surgery.”
Ergun said Savage’s family arrived in Antalya that same day.
She told how she accompanied them from the airport to the hospital. Using a translator, Ms Savage’s relatives were told there had been “serious internal bleeding” and that she had suffered a heart attack.
Mrs Savage died in the early hours of August 6 last year in the hospital’s intensive care unit and her body was formally identified by her husband Andrew.
Ergun said the family “thanked” him for his efforts and then accompanied them back to the airport.
Relatives of Mrs Savage, a mother-of-two from Bangor, Gwynedd, chose not to attend the conclusion of the inquest.
Mrs Robertson translated notes from the surgeon who carried out the botched operation, Dr Ramazan Azar.
He described how there was a 3 to 4mm “defect” in the aorta artery when the operation began, causing catastrophic bleeding.
He said the aorta was repaired and surgery was stopped to place the gastric sleeve procedure itself.
Medical staff in the intensive care unit were unable to find a pulse and Mrs Savage was pronounced dead.
Ms Robertson said she had considered the evidence as carefully as possible, but added: “As with many deaths that occur overseas, the different court processes mean that the evidence provided to us may not be to the extent we would have in this country. .’
The NHS advises people thinking about having surgery abroad to consider the “potential risks” due to differences in safety standards.
Their website advises: ‘It is important to do your research if you are thinking about having cosmetic surgery abroad.
‘It may cost less than in the UK, but you have to weigh the potential savings against the potential risks. Safety standards may not be as high.
‘No surgery is risk-free. Complications can occur after surgery in the UK or abroad.
The coroner extended his condolences to Mrs Savage’s family.
Mrs Savage had worked as an examiner at the Bangor-based Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency and had passed hundreds of drivers in her eight years as a driving test examiner.
In May last year, she was promoted to “recruitment ambassador” as executive director of the government agency.
