Mum fighting for life after botched 'mummy makeover' in Turkey gives her sepsis

25 November 2023 , 14:15

1029     0

Danielle Hunt paid £6,795 for surgery in Turkey (Image: Danielle Hunt)

A woman was left fighting for her life after travelling to Turkey for a so-called "mummy makeover" which went horribly wrong.

Danielle Hunt, from Middleton in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, paid £6,795 to have breast implant replacements, a tummy tuck, and liposuction at an Istanbul-based clinic in October 2022. The 35-year-old mum reached out to a Turkish surgeon on WhatsApp after being shown his Instagram page by a friend.

She claims a receptionist asked her for photos which she promptly sent over and they agreed to carry out the procedures. Aesthetics practitioner Danielle said: "They asked me to let them know when I’d booked my flights. There was no consultation. They didn’t ask me if I took any medication, had any health problems or drank."

Danielle went to Turkey for a 'mummy makeover' (Danielle Hunt)

She has now spoken out about her traumatising ordeal (Danielle Hunt)

The mum-of-one flew out to the Turkish city and waited for a driver to pick her up from the airport as promised. After multiple phone calls, the driver finally arrived an hour later after accidentally going to the wrong airport.

Once she arrived at her hotel, Danielle was then taken to the clinic for a pre-consultation appointment, reports the Manchester Evening News. There, she claims staff did not use gloves to take her blood and got her results mixed up with another woman called Danielle who had booked the same procedures.

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

The following day, it was time for Danielle to undergo her three surgeries. Despite only wanting breast implant replacements, she claims the surgeons told her she needed to have a breast uplift surgery to re-shape her breasts into a higher position.

Before going under the knife, Danielle claims she was presented with four 10-page long consultation forms that she needed to sign within five minutes or she would lose her surgery slot. "I signed them without reading them," Danielle added. "I panicked."

The surgery went wrong, leaving the mum fighting for her life (Danielle Hunt)

The mum asked the medics to let her know when they were about to put her to sleep which she claims they failed to do. The next thing Danielle remembers is waking up in extreme agony. "I was asking for pain relief before it was due because I was in that much pain," she said.

"They discharged me the next day and I got back to the hotel with only paracetamol as pain relief. I rang the clinic and told them I was in dire pain. I was crying asking them if I could go back, I didn’t mind having to pay."

Despite a nurse visiting Danielle at her hotel several times to administer pain relief, she was in so much agony she could not even walk three steps in her room. "It took me 30 minutes to walk to the shower," she added. "I wasn’t getting any sleep or resting at all."

Danielle paid to fly back to Manchester a day early where she was met by her partner at the airport who had to put her into a wheelchair. It took eight long weeks for the mum to be able to walk properly following her tummy tuck and liposuction – but her breast wounds were still causing her severe pain.

She was left with injuries on her body (Danielle Hunt)

Danielle is now urging other people to avoid going to Turkey for surgery (Danielle Hunt)

She then went to Royal Bolton Hospital where she claims a surgeon told her said her bruising was the worst he had seen in his entire career. Despite visiting a breast clinic three times a week, Danielle’s wounds would not heal and constantly became infected with oozing green pus.

In a terrifying turn of events, she developed deadly sepsis on New Year’s Eve and had to be rushed for emergency surgery to have her breast implants removed. "I contacted three different clinics and all three refused point blank to treat me because of how the original surgery had been done," she continued.

Danielle was in so much pain she was out of work for three months and struggled to care for her non-verbal autistic daughter. "I’ve got a severely autistic child, she’s seven and non-verbal," the mum added. "I couldn’t be a mum for a few months. That had an effect on her because she likes routine. I found it really hard because of the pain I was on. She’s quite strong, so if she pushed me, it would have been another hospital visit because I was in that much of a weak state. I felt like I was failing as a mother.

Danielle with her daughter Minnie Rose (Danielle Hunt)

"I was having nightmares and waking up dripping in sweat. I was constantly checking my breasts every two hours to make sure there was no leakage under the dressings. I couldn’t go swimming because I was constantly anxious thinking people were looking at me. I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror."

Disabled woman paralysed after falling from wheelchair on plane walkway dies

The ordeal took such an emotional toll on Danielle that she was diagnosed with PTSD three months after her procedures. "You hear of the odd person dying from gastric sleeve surgery but it’s just getting worse," she continued. "My surgeon said he’s seen more cases to correct. They’re all botched."

Danielle eventually found a medic who agreed to perform reconstruction surgery privately – forcing the mum to fork out a further £6,500 for the procedure. Now rebuilding her life, the mum has issued a stark warning to others considering getting surgery abroad.

"Going over to Turkey for surgery is not worth risking your own life," she said. "My little girl was nearly left without a mum. Turkey surgery is cheap but you cannot put a price on your life."

Paige Oldfield