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A Frenchman took his own life after a real estate agent posing as a surgeon ruined his beard transplant in Türkiye, his heartbroken father claims.
Mathieu Vigier Latour traveled to Istanbul in March for the transplant, which cost him 1,300 euros, a fifth of the price it would cost to do it in France.
But the treatment caused him to lose 1,000 hair grafts and transfer 4,000 from his head to his face.
After the operation, the business student’s beard was left with an irregular shape, growing at an unnatural angle and like 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, performed by a real estate agent posing as a surgeon
Latour before his operation. The student tragically took his own life after the procedure left his scalp permanently damaged.
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 the transplant was not actually a qualified surgeon, but a real estate agent, the Telegraph reported.
As a result of his botched operation, Latour fell into a “vicious cycle” and suffered from dysmorphic disorder, a condition in which people become obsessed with flaws in their appearance.
A Belgian specialist attempting to correct the procedure said his scalp would never recover in the patch where the grafts had been lost.
He ended up taking his own life three months after traveling to Türkiye for the transplant.
Latour’s father is now campaigning to raise awareness about the risks of seemingly cheap health tourism.
He said it would be “a tribute to Mathieu” if his son’s shocking experience could help prevent similar tragedies from happening again.
- For help, call Samaritans for free on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org