Kelly Hodges from Staffordshire lost a huge amount of weight and was left with an overhanging belly which she decided to get rid of.
In 2006, she went to a recommended clinic in Germany (where she lived) and was offered a discount on a tummy tuck with liposuction if she put down a deposit on her second consultation.
Two weeks later Kelly arrived back at the clinic to undergo the surgery, and over a four-hour period the surgeon removed three kilos of skin and two litres of fat. Kelly returned twice in the following week to have fluid drained from the wound, which is not unusual, but, on the seventh day, she realised that there was actually a gaping hole in her stomach. Her surgeon would not admit that there was an infection, but after a visit to the local hospital Kelly found out that she could have been dead within 48 hours.
For the next six months Kelly was in and out of hospital, and four years later she is left with a huge scar that still causes her pain and greatly affects her home and working life. She’s sharing her experience in the hope that anyone who is considering surgery will take the necessary precautions beforehand.
