SURGERY TRAGEDY
Mum-of-three, 38, died after flying to Turkey for £2,000 weight loss surgery as heartbreaking final text to dad revealed
Leanne had previously fallen on the stairs at work and complained of leg pain
A MUM sent a heartbreaking final text to her dad before her death after flying to Turkey for a £2,000 weight loss surgery, an inquest heard.
Leanne Leary, 38, from Oldham, Manchester, travelled to Istanbul for the procedure which, if successful, would remove 80 per cent of her stomach.
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But Leanne had an undiagnosed condition which led to her having a heart attack on the operating table, the hearing was told.
The mum-of-three was resuscitated and rushed to intensive care, but suffered a second fatal cardiac arrest the following afternoon.
Leanne had fallen on the stairs at work and complained of leg pain after first going to Istanbul to watch Manchester City play in the Champions League final a month before her death.
Rochdale Coroners' Court heard how she underwent tests for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) on her return to the UK, however, they were inconclusive.
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The inquest heard Leanne, who had asthma and pneumonia, originally booked the gastric sleeve surgery in April last year to take place in October but brought it forward to July while she was off work sick.
The mum-of-three had opted for the procedure after struggling to lose the weight gained after giving birth to her teenage boys.
But she didn't inform her parents of her plans to undergo the £2,000 surgery at first as she feared they would talk her out of it.
Leanne's final text messages to her dad Paul Dermody as she was about to go into surgery on the morning of Saturday, July 1, were read out in court.
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She said: “I didn’t want people to try put me off. I need this for me and my health.”
Paul told the court: “I said I fully support what you are doing, but I want to know where you are every step of the way before and after surgery.”
Leanne's mum Kathleen Scott said: "I would have 100 per cent talked her out of it. You have to think of the kids.
"But she felt like there was nothing to worry about because she so desperately needed and wanted this operation.”
The mum-of-three also didn't discuss the procedure with her GP before jetting off to Turkey.
Leanne had sent an excited snap from the hospital to her family Whatsapp chat - but her loved ones grew worried when they lost contact with her for several hours.
Before her family were able to fly out to the Turkish capital, Leanne had suffered a second and fatal heart attack on the afternoon of July 2.
A friend who spoke Turkish contacted the hospital outside Istanbul and was told she had suffered a heart attack during surgery.
Her parents flew to Istanbul and were met by an interpreter.
But on their arrival at the hospital they were given the news that Leanne had died.
A post mortem report gave the cause of death as a pulmonary embolism due to deep vein thrombosis.
Pathologist Dr Sami Titi said it was likely the DVT was present before Leanne left the UK.
Paul said he had concerns about the speed with which the operation had been arranged and the risks of people travelling abroad to undergo surgery.
He also said it appeared the hospital hadn’t taken any next of kin details in case of an emergency.
Turkey surgery risks
An estimated 150,000 Britons go under the knife in Turkey every year.
At least 25 British citizens have died following surgery in Turkey in the past four years, including two young women in the last month alone.
Hundreds more have been hospitalised by botched operations.
There has also been an alarming recent rise in the number of medical tourists returning with devastating complications, including internal bleeding, sepsis and malnutrition.
It comes as we recently revealed Turkish doctors come to the UK to offer "in person medical consultations" and leave potential patients under pressure to pay up then and there.
IT worker Khelisyah Ashamu, 26, of Romford, East London, died in 2019 after suffering complications from a £3,000 gastric bypass at one of their hospitals in Izmir, Turkey.
Morgan Ribeiro, 20, from south London, went into septic shock following weight loss surgery in Istanbul.
Meanwhile, Demi Agoglia, 26, from Manchester, died from a pulmonary embolism after undergoing Brazilian butt-lift surgery.
In the past few years at least 28 Brits have died — seven in Turkey — after complications from BBL ops.
Area coroner Catherine McKenna concluded that Leanne, who had a BMI of 47, had died of "recognised complications of an elective surgical procedure combined with underlying medical conditions".
Ms McKenna added: “This case underlines the importance of transparency when it comes to surgical procedures.
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"It is imperative to anyone considering a procedure that, irrespective of how straightforward it may seem, all surgery carries risk.
“It’s so important to discuss any surgery with one’s GP and that surgeons carrying out the procedure are aware of one’s medical history.”
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