British mother-of-three, 38, dies in Turkey after £2,000 gastric sleeve operation

A mum-of-three died alone in a Turkish hospital after undergoing a £2,000 gastric sleeve procedure, leaving her family reeling.

Leanne Michelle Leary, 38, travelled to Istanbul for the operation in the hope it would help her with her weight.

But the mum, from Hollinwood, Oldham, went on to have a heart attack and died, leaving her family wanting answers about what happened.

Her ex-husband Steven Leary, who is father to two of her children, paid tribute to her, saying: "Leanne was very bubbly and the life and soul of the party. She was very kind and generous and always willing to help other people even when she might need it herself.

"My son is very angry. It was very unexpected and you don't expect when you pay thousands of pounds for a medical procedure that this is going to happen. Her daughters are heartbroken."

Leary's body has since been flown back to the UK where a post mortem examination will be carried out.

Rochdale Coroner's Court have confirmed that a file relating to her death has been passed to the coroner, and an inquest will be listed in due course.

Leary's family told the Manchester Evening News that she had travelled to Turkey on 30 June for the operation the following day, which she had paid up-front for and was hoped to see around 80 per cent of her stomach removed.

The 38-year-old sent a picture of herself in her hospital gown to her family Whatsapp chat but when nobody had heard from her several hours after the procedure was due to finish, her relatives became concerned.

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After finally managing to contact the hospital, they were told she had suffered a heart attack but was in a stable condition.

Her parents are understood to have flown out to Turkey the following day, but when they arrived at the hospital were informed she had suffered another heart attack and died.

Her ex-husband said she had struggled with her weight for a number of years, struggling to shift her baby weight after having their two children, Kyle, 15, and Caitlin, 14.

She had seen doctors and was on a five-year waiting list for the same procedure in the UK, Steven Leary said, but wanted to lose weight sooner and had set a target of her 40th birthday.

Leary said his ex-wife's friend had previously had the procedure in Turkey herself and she had wanted to do the same, putting "100 per cent confidence" in the procedure which she thought was "absolutely safe".

He said she flew out to Turkey by herself on 30 June and underwent some tests the following day, before the procedure later that afternoon.

"The procedure was for a gastric sleeve which is supposed to remove 80 per cent of your stomach," he said.

"It was £2,000 for the whole package. I think the same procedure if you went privately in the UK was around £12,000."

He said her family knew roughly what time the procedure should have been finished so when they hadn't heard from her by 7pm that evening, started to worry and enlisted the help of the Turkish husband of her friend who had had the same surgery to try to contact the hospital.

"They told him the procedure had been successful but that she suffered a heart attack and was in a stable condition," he added.

"Apparently the hospital said she hadn’t put anyone down for her next of kin so they weren’t able to get in touch with us.

"Her parents booked a flight out to Istanbul but when they arrived at the hospital they were told she’d had another heart attack and had passed away."

He said the family did not want a post mortem examination to be carried out in Turkey, so with the help of the embassy, managed to organise for Leary's body to be flown home for it to be carried out in the UK.

A fundraising page has since been launched, as all three of Leary's children have now been placed in the care of her ex-husband and his partner.

Steven Leary said they wanted to raise awareness and warn people of the risks of having surgery abroad, saying: "A lot of people go over there on their own and there is nothing in place if things go wrong it’s a completely different medical system."