Women warned not to go overseas for gastric surgery

Women warned not to go overseas for gastric surgery

Leading surgeons have warned British women not to go abroad for cheap weight-loss surgery due to the risk of complications.

Faced with long NHS waiting lists, thousands of British women are now choosing to have their operations at private clinics overseas because of the bargain prices they offer. The Independent on Sunday reported that in countries such as Syria, gastric bands are fitted for as little as £2,000, compared to around £6,500 in the UK.

Last year a report warned doctors to watch out for complications that may develop years after the surgery. Ahmed R Ahmed, a weight loss surgeon at the private Cromwell Hospital in London, believes that as many as 10 per cent of women who have surgery overseas are returning with serious complications.

"It appears that some patients who pay privately abroad are not getting high-quality surgery and certainly they're not getting any follow-up," he said. "The key thing is the follow-up. If you don't have that, patients can get malnourished and deficient in vitamins. There is also a strong chance their weight might not go down as much as it should."

According to Catherine Foss, executive director of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, travel agencies are brokering surgery for their clients with surgeons they have never met. "The patients have no assurance that their surgeon is properly trained or qualified to perform the procedure they will undergo," she said.