The dark side of Turkey's beauty industry | DW Documentary

Feeling good, with 'perfect' figures: the advertising of cosmetic surgery clinics and agencies. Countries like Turkey are attracting customers with their budget prices – but the fantasy of a flawless appearance can often end with lifelong scarring. .

. Yeah, I absolutely hate my body now. … and in the worst cases, even in death.

She was so full of promise. Every year, hundreds of thousands of British women fly to Turkey for cosmetic surgery and are often in for a nasty shock. We only rent them the operating room.

Now, victims of medical malpractice, and the families of those who have died are demanding accountability. Hi, I really got conned. I’m ok, I’m in a lot of pain, but ok.

I’m going to be home on Monday, so… I'll call you then. Love you. It’s that little bit at the end that really gets me.

You can hear the pain that she was in. A few days after this voice message from Turkey, Erin Gibson's daughter was dead. 20-year-old Morgan from South London had long struggled with her weight.

She wanted to put an end to being bullied. She applied for weight loss surgery through the NHS, the British health authority, but was on a very long waiting list. She couldn't stand the fact that she had to wait two years to be on the waiting list.

She was doing a lot of social media influencing; makeup, clothes, you know, beauticians, kinds of stuff, and that's how the advert came about. In 2023, she spotted an advertisement from this agency in Switzerland – claiming to be the number one in Europe. They would arrange cosmetic surgery in Turkey, flights and accommodation included; a common business model in the industry.

Morgan was offered the surgery for a third of the price she would pay in Britain. She was referred to a doctor and a clinic in Istanbul. At the end of the year, Morgan posted a video to her TikTok account: Hi, my name is Morgan.

I'm 20 years old and on the fifth of January, 2024, I'm having weight loss surgery, specifically gastric sleeve. It feels crazy to say that out loud because I've wanted this for so long. My flights are booked.

I've already had all my consultations with my doctor, and like the. . .

therapist and all that sort of stuff that comes with my package, and I'm. . .

I'm ready. What Morgan didn’t know: her agency, Global Medical Care, turns out to be little more than a name on the mailbox of a Zurich rental property. We couldn’t find an office.

Upon inquiry, the agency stated that they meet clients there by appointment only. Morgan was also unaware that the Istanbul clinic had had a dubious reputation for some time and that the doctor who would later operate on her promotes himself online as a specialist for hemorrhoid treatment. Shortly after New Year's Day, 2024, Morgan and her boyfriend, Jamie, flew from London to Istanbul.

She thought 'Yeah! New year, new life, new body. ' We wanted to learn more about the beauty business and traveled to Istanbul.

Hundreds of thousands of medical tourists come here every year, with the trend on the rise. The full gamut of beauty treatments is available: from hair transplants to breast augmentation, to liposuction, all at comparatively affordable prices. According to the government, 1.

5 million patients visited Turkey in 2023. A billion-dollar business for the struggling local economy. Most treatments are carried out without complications, and many clinics and doctors enjoy good reputations.

The fiercely competitive market, though, is increasingly attracting ruthless businesspeople. 20-year-old Morgan wanted to play it safe, and sought advice in advance from her followers: if you've had weight loss surgery, specifically a gastric sleeve or any weight loss surgery, and you have any tips for me, please do let me know. The day after her arrival, Morgan was taken to the designated private clinic in an Istanbul suburb: A hospital which has received dozens of complaints on Turkish websites.

Following the breast augmentation, the silicone has slipped. They're denying any responsibility. Egg-sized bumps on my stomach after liposuction.

They're demanding another 3,000 euros for a follow-up operation. Allegedly, the employees have only received their wages irregularly for years now. In the past three years the owner has changed several times.

When Morgan Ribeiro arrived at the clinic, she was met by a different doctor than the one she had spoken with prior to departure. This one didn’t speak English. Morgan's boyfriend told us they would have needed an interpreter.

After the surgery, Morgan complained of persistent pain. Nevertheless, she was discharged after three days. On the return flight, she collapsed.

An emergency landing was made in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, where a few days later, despite an emergency operation, she died. Serbian forensic scientist Djordje Alempijevic was responsible for the autopsy. It was a profound infection, and then septicaemia, you know, so spreading infection.

Doctors had removed a segment of the small intestine, which appears to be damaged, injured during the surgical procedure, which was presiding all these happenings, and which took place in Istanbul, in Turkey. We wanted to speak to the people in charge of the Istanbul clinic about Morgan Ribeiro's case. The director remembered the young woman from England, but waived any responsibility.

. . We only rent them the operating room.

The doctor is not one of ours. They just rented the OR from us for the operation. The doctor works for another clinic.

A version of events that was disputed by the Global Medical Care agency when we approached them. We also contacted the doctor in Istanbul, who rejected any accusations of malpractice. He declined to be interviewed.

I've already said all that's necessary. There was supposedly an infection and who knows what else. It's all too easy to slander someone.

Morgan Ribeiro isn't the first British resident who has not survived an operation in Turkey. In the past five years, at least 28 British women have died as a result of surgeries there. Some British politicians are now calling for a ban on advertising such medical tourism over the Internet.

Sara Platt was lured in by a similar offer. Today, she says she barely survived a tummy tuck and breast surgery in Turkey. Back home in Wales, she's needed nine follow-up surgeries to return to some semblance of normal life.

I used to be very outgoing: go out, you know – whatever. I don’t do any of that anymore. I absolutely hate my body now.

On February 7, 2023, 33-year-old Sara flew to Antalya, on the Mediterranean Sea, accompanied by her parents. The Turkish metropolis is of one of the country's hotspots for medical tourism. She, too, had booked through an agency.

Yes, I was taken to the hotel, and before I'd even been taken to my room – like, literally, I hadn't even seen the doctor again or nothing – they wanted payment. As soon as I got to the hotel. Following the surgery, Platt says, the ordeal began.

Her wounds weren’t healing. She was nonetheless discharged from hospital and taken back to her hotel. I had pain everywhere, and I was vomiting, and I was crying, and I was screaming.

. . and then I passed out.

Then I'd come back around, and then I'd pass out again. I've got the message still, like 'When do they change my bandages? ', and I had a message back on WhatsApp saying 'They don't.

You leave them bandages on. It's better for the healing, ' and I was thinking 'I haven't had a bath in nine days. Do you mean I haven't had a shower?

I haven't been washed. Do you mean the smell of this, this rotting. .

. ? ' I could smell rotting flesh.

I remember Dean walking me into the shower. All this gunk just kept pouring out. I was screaming.

I remember being like 'Dean, it's blood! ' Even over a year later, she's still suffering from the fallout. She's sued the Turkish clinic for damages.

Through social media, she's connected with other British victims of mishandled Turkish cosmetic surgeries. She intends to fight for her rights. With follow-up surgery, Swansea plastic surgeon Iain Whitaker has endeavored to help Sara Platt – and not just her.

He has many trusted and respectable colleagues in Turkey, but the number of problematic returning cases is on the increase. We normally see things such as wound-healing problems, wound infections, problems with the blood supply – which lead into skin necrosis, breast implant infections, and this sort of thing. The truth is, it's very important for the first procedures to be done properly, because to turn back the clock and repair wound infections, scarring, particularly tissue loss, is often impossible or often very, very tricky to to get a good result.

Late June, London. Opposite the Houses of Parliament at Westminster, a Turkish medical tourism fair promoting exactly these kinds of surgeries is being held. Sara Platt is outraged.

She intends to confront exhibitors with her experiences and ask: How is the Turkish beauty industry addressing these scandals? So many, so many. .

. Platt shows pictures of her surgery in Antalya to one of the event organizers. No.

I am sorry for that. Really. Nobody should go through that.

Aftercare is quite crucial. I was 28 days in Turkey because he left me rotting in a hotel room. So, I wish I had the aftercare, but I didn't.

As soon as they've got the money, they don't care. I mean, there are always risks with health, correct? So here out in the UK too, when you are getting these procedures, you still have the same risks where patients died here as well.

Surprisingly, at an industry panel discussion one level up, there's an indirect admission that not everything is going smoothly. The representative of a British medical travel agency urges more careful screening of patients and their suitability for treatment. Please don't say 'Yes' to every other patient.

The sooner we learn to say 'No', the earlier we will be beginning to deliver ethical healthcare. Let us not harm. Just a few meters away, however, a different picture emerges.

Sara Platt wants to expose the industry's methods. Fitted with a hidden camera, she visits a clinic's booth and feigns interest in gastric reduction surgery. The representative initially advises against the procedure.

Your BMI? 29. 5.

29? Oh, you don’t look it. Ok.

For gastric sleeve surgery, a BMI of 29 is really low. That’s not possible. But not five minutes later, she receives a WhatsApp message from the same provider with an alternative offer: Gastric balloon… It would be my pleasure to help you.

However, a gastric balloon is only recommended for people with a BMI over 30. Some medical societies even advise against the risky method altogether. The run of scandals hasn't deterred visitors from attending the London health fair: they trust their own judgment.

'Cause we see them in the newspaper every day, don't we? But my opinion is that if you do your research, and you do your research properly, you will be fine. If it really suits my needs, then I would have to consider it – or have the company checked twice, or three times before I actually know it's the best place for me to go to.

Sara Platt also researched thoroughly before going under the knife in Turkey. She's now disturbed by the fact that – despite all the scandals – the Turkish cosmetic surgery industry can continue to advertise so freely in Britain. When I actually show them the pictures and what is happening, that's when they're like, 'Oh, something needs to be done!

', but something needed to be done a long time ago. On the other side, representatives of the Turkish health tourism industry place the responsibility primarily on the patients: they shouldn't be swayed by the bargain offers being advertised. If your only focus is price, this is not going to be the right decision.

You have to understand why this is cheap. Check your doctor: if that doctor is European board certified, or Turkish medical authorities accredited that doctor for international health tourism. You need to do that.

If you have any suspicions, go to the Turkish Medical Association, go to NGOs who are dedicated to the health tourism industry. At this stage, the only option left open for Sara Platt and many other victims of botched cosmetic surgeries is to sue those responsible in Turkey from Britain. It’s a painstaking process – one that's often accompanied by British-Turkish lawyer, Burcu Orhan.

. . A lot of the time, people who have solid cases come to me, they just can't deal with the financial or emotional aspect of having to sue in another country, therefore they give up.

At the moment, I've about 28 ongoing cases, and then if you ask me how many inquiries I'm getting – which is much more – probably I'd say about ten a week. She's of the opinion that stricter regulation of the intermediary agencies, for instance, could better protect patients. If these medical tourism agencies were to be insured, and they had to go through qualifications like we all do – estate agents, you know, anyone really, surveyors, so none of this would happen, because what they will do then: these medical agencies will start picking the surgeons who won't make these mistakes.

Mistakes that can end in death, as they did for Morgan Ribeiro. Her mother hopes that public knowledge of her daughter's fate will prevent other young women from risking their health and their lives for looks. My daughter deserved to feel confident in her own skin, regardless of her size.

She deserved to be beautiful, and feel beautiful – without stigma, without being bullied. She deserved to have a life as much as anybody else, or any other 20-year-old who is alive. She hadn't even begun to live life yet.

She was so full of promise.