A mother-of-four who almost died after undergoing a botched cosmetic surgery abroad is believed to be the first Brit to sue their Turkish doctor, MailOnline can reveal.
Sara Platt, from Bridgend, South Wales, was left in so much pain she ‘wanted to die’ and was later hospitalised with psychosis after a Turkish surgeon attempted to perform a loose skin removal for her stomach as well as a breast uplift and implant.
Although at least 28 British people have died – and many more left seriously injured – by dodgy Turkish treatments since 2019, Ms Platt claims to be the first to sue their surgeon.
The mother, who has set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to help with her legal battle, first flew to Turkey in 2021 to reduce the size of her stomach. She lost 12 stone but the failed surgery left her with excess skin, causing sores and an unpleasant smell.
Unable to afford the expensive private skin removal treament in the UK, she returned to Turkey in February 2023, where it cost £15,000 compared to £33,000 at a private UK facility, she claimed.
It was on her second trip where her bungled surgery left her on the brink of death.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, she said: ‘I don’t want this happening to another person. So this is why I’m taking it the full way.
‘I also want to show the Turkish surgeon that they can’t get away with it. There’s too many people that have had their lives totally changed for the worse. I was left with three days to live. I suffer with nightmares every night. I’ve got extreme PTSD.’
‘If somebody touches my stomach straight away, I can feel pain and that’s going to be with me forever.’
Sara Platt (pictured), from Bridgend, South Wales, was left in so much pain she ‘wanted to die’ following botched surgery
The mother says she is in immediate agony whenever someone touches her stomach
She says she was told she had just three days to live after the second operation from the Turkish surgeon
When Ms Platt returned to Turkey, she said she was ‘naive’ and ‘desperate’ and was also told by the surgery, which had numerous five-star reviews, she could recover in the country’s sun.
Following her skin removal operation, she was left ‘rotting’ in agony in a dingy hotel with brown liquid seeping from her body and a chunk of fat left in the middle of her chest.
Nine days later the same Turkish surgeon decided to perform another procedure, ‘to fix his mess,’ she said.
She was left awake and screaming in pain while the surgeon took off a ‘big chunk’ of fat and skin, with only local anaesthetic used.
She says she remains haunted from the experience, where she felt like her skin was on fire, after the surgeon used a ‘burning tool’.
The mother received a fit-to-fly certificate and returned home, where she was treated at Morriston Hospital in Swansea.
She spent eight weeks at the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery and has since had 10 corrective surgeries on the NHS, including a skin graft on her stomach.
‘I’d done my full research and even flew out to make sure I was making the right choice. I visited the clinic and met the surgeon twice. I really trusted this man and he nearly killed me.’
The mother is taking legal action against the surgeon and hopes his licence will be revoked.
As part of the court proceedings she will have to be examined by Turkish doctors.
‘Going back scares the absolute life out of me,’ she said.
‘I can’t even think about Turkey. It brings back so many bad memories and feelings even though I haven’t got that open wound now on my stomach, I can still feel that. I’m very scared about my PTSD.
She told MailOnline: ‘I don’t want this happening to another person. So this is why I’m taking it the full way’
Ms Platt returned to Turkey for an excess skin removal operation but was left with severe scarring
She paid £15,000 for the skin removal procedure in Turkey but ended up needing 10 corrective surgeries on the NHS
As well as being left with scars the mother of four said she has suffered from PTSD following surgery
‘But I know I’ve got to do it because I can’t let them win.
Ms Platt has set up a GoFundMe page to help with the costs of flights and accommodation, whilst she undergoes an ‘intimidating, exhausting, and financially draining’ legal battle.
She says she wants to raise awareness of the dangers of surgery ‘that are often hidden behind appealing prices, celebrity endorsements, and glamorous marketing’.
She added: ‘I don’t care if I don’t get a penny. It’s the fact that I need justice and I want to stop the surgeon from doing it to anybody else.
‘I’m trying to raise awareness. I’m trying to advocate against the bad surgeons in Turkey.’
The surgeon has been contacted for comment.
According to the Foreign Office, 28 Brits have died after having cosmetic surgery in Turkey since 2019.
A British woman died after undergoing Brazilian butt-lift surgery in Turkey, an inquest heard in November.
Hayley Dowell suffered medical complications at a private clinic after her surgeon left half way through the operation, a coroner was told.
Turkish clinics offer packages including VIP airport transfers in ‘luxury vehicles’ and 5-star hotel stays with breakfast. But at least 28 Brits have died from dodgy surgeries since 2019
A variety of procedures not offered in the UK are carried out by surgeons in Turkey
The 38-year-old Briton went under the knife and had a Brazilian butt-lift (BBL), a tummy tuck, and liposuction – a package that costs more than £7,000 – in October 2023.
She was thought to be one of six Britons who died in Turkey in 2023 following medical procedures.
Meanwhile, in August, a British woman said she was trapped in the country after suffering from serious complications from botched cosmetic procedures, including two bouts of sepsis.
Cennet Lo, a 28-year-old mother of one, flew to Bodrum in April to receive a tummy tuck, liposuction and Brazilian butt lift.
Four months later she remained in Turkey in recovery after her cosmetic procedures went catastrophically wrong, with the mother claiming she woke up mid-surgery.
