A MUM claims she was “butchered” after a £3,500 tummy tuck turned into a nightmare.
Emma Bestall, 34, underwent surgery in Eastern Europe to remove her “overhang.”
After having three children and losing 4.5 stone, the salon owner wanted to lose her mum tum.
Her dreams of a washboard stomach were dashed, however, when she was hospitalised 10 days after returning to the UK due to an infection in her surgery wound.
Emma’s stomach had to be opened from hip to hip in order for the infection to be flushed out.
It left her with a large incision that required a thigh skin graft to cover, and she now has a thick band of scarring across her hips.
Emma says that even though her partner, Liam Thomas, 37, tries to reassure her, she still dislikes her body as much as she did before the surgery.
Emma, a resident of Sleaford, Lincolnshire, stated: “I wanted a tummy tuck because I’d had three children and lost four and a half stone, and my tummy wasn’t looking too good. I had a roof overhang.
“I had hoped it would help shape my body more; I wanted a flat tummy.
“I wasn’t expecting a scar, but this one is about two and a half inches wide and wraps around my stomach tightly.
“I’m not at ease in my own skin, and I’m wrapped in duct tape.
“I’m having a terrible time with my body. People compliment me, which irritates me because they have no idea what I look like on the inside.
“It’s not painful, but it’s tight and uncomfortable, and it’s massive and unsightly.
“I appear to have been butchered.”
Emma spent three years researching the clinic in Eastern Europe before deciding to proceed with the surgery, and she says she had saved for years.
Emma claims that as soon as she stepped off the plane, she went straight to the clinic and underwent surgery.
Emma said: “As soon as we got off the plane, we went to the clinic and I was in surgery after about two hours so it all felt a bit rushed.
“I was quite anxious and upset when they were putting me to sleep because I felt so nervous.
“As soon as I woke up, I just couldn’t believe what I’d done to myself. I was in that much pain I couldn’t walk or go to the toilet.
“I woke up in agony and I was crying my eyes out until they gave me morphine.
“I didn’t look at my stomach for about a week and a half, even when they changed my bandages, I couldn’t bear to look at myself.”
Emma, the mother of Harley Connell, 14, Tilly-May Connell, 12, and Oakley Thomas, six, returned to the UK after being discharged from the Eastern European clinic.
Emma continued to clean the wound, but infection began to seep through her bandages.
She stated: “It appeared to be fine at first, but after a week, my tummy began to open up.
“I noticed it was leaking when I was changing my bandages, but I’d never had surgery before, so I assumed it was normal.”
Fortunately, Emma decided to go to Lincolnshire County A&E, where doctors informed her that she had a severe infection and transferred her to Nottingham City Hospital.
Medics opened Emma’s stomach and flushed out the infection.
She was given a VAC (vacuum-assisted closure) dressing, which suckers air out of a wound, allowing it to stay clean and heal faster.
The wound was so large that skin from Emma’s thigh had to be removed to cover it, leaving her with a two-and-a-half-inch thick scar.
“They couldn’t close me properly because it’s so wide,” Emma explained, “and I still have to drive to Nottingham every other week for a check-up.”
Emma is still having check-ups at the hospital six months after her operation and advises anyone considering cosmetic surgery in another country to do their research thoroughly.
Emma stated: “The scar has healed, but it has had a greater impact on my mental health than I could have imagined; I dislike looking at it.
“My other half reassures me, but it makes no difference to me.
“I’d been saving for years, and it only cost £3,500, which is reasonable in comparison to other places.”
“If you’re thinking about having any surgery, please do your research first.”
