British woman died in Turkey ‘after surgeon left halfway through operation’
A British woman died in Turkey after a surgeon left halfway through an operation, a coroner has heard.
Hayley Dowell, 38, suffered medical complications at a private clinic after she had a “Brazilian butt lift” (also known as a BBL), tummy tuck and liposuction in October last year.
She had the three surgeries as part of a package that cost more than £7,000 after she and Neil Dowell, her husband, did research to find a Turkish clinic.
The country is popular with Britons for its reduced prices on cosmetic surgery, although it has been the subject of warnings by UK health officials.
Mr Dowell, who accompanied his wife on the trip, has claimed that her surgeon left the operation halfway through and did not outline the risks of the procedure to his wife.
The couple arrived in Turkey on October 1 last year and Mrs Dowell underwent surgery at the BHT Clinic in Istanbul the following day. She died on October 3 “at around midnight”.
Mr Dowell told Winchester Coroner’s Court: “We found a surgeon that had a clinic named after himself. He was one of the [top five] surgeons in Turkey.”
However, he said his wife had “only consented to two” of the three operations she underwent. He did not specify which surgery she did not agree to or if they were carried out at the same time.
Mr Dowell also claimed that there was “not any risk outlined” to his wife before the operation.
Her mother Ann said she “would not have known the risks” of one of the operations because she didn’t consent to all three.
Mr Dowell said that the surgery, which “should have been a six-hour operation”, only lasted one hour and 45 minutes.
“The surgeon left halfway through the operation and left the anaesthetist to do the job. You can’t do both at the same time,” Mr Dowell told the coroner.
He also said the clinic asked him to sign the consent form after his wife had died.
The Foreign Office site said it was aware of six British nationals having died in Turkey in 2023 following medical procedures.
A BBL involves increasing the size and shape of a person’s bottom by removing fat from one area of the body and transferring it to the buttocks.
A preliminary hearing into Mrs Dowell’s death was told that she suffered an embolism – an issue that can arise after surgery and cause a potentially fatal blood flow blockage.
Coroner Nicholas Walker said he would be conducting a full investigation into the information Mrs Dowell received and the circumstances of her death.
Mr Walker also suggested he would be writing a Prevention of Future Deaths report to help stop future tragedies from occurring.
A full inquest will take place in January.
On its website, BHT Clinic states: “We have the mission of ‘Becoming a World Brand in Health’ by applying patient and employee safety in international quality standards based on ethical principles with its medical infrastructure.”
BHT Clinic did not have an official representative or spokesman at the preliminary hearing and it is not yet known if the clinic will be providing evidence to the inquest in January.