Calls for urgent regulation of weight loss surgery tourism after 28 Britons die from medical complications in Turkey

Independent

a day ago

Medical tourism for weight loss is rising in popularity, with around 5,000 Britons a year travelling overseas for cut-price surgery.
But experts have warned the industry is putting patients' lives at risk and is in urgent need of regulation.
Botched surgery can lead to infections 'leakage, sepsis, and even death,' a report by the BMJ highlights.
At least 28 British people had died between 2019 and March 2024, due to complications from elective medical procedures performed in Turkey figures provided by the Foreign Office revealed.
Weight loss surgery, sometimes called bariatric surgery, is a treatment for people who are severely obese. It makes the stomach smaller, so it feels fuller sooner and less food is eaten.
Despite the rise in popularity of weight loss jabs, the medical tourism industry for weight loss surgery continues to grow.
Medical tourism industry is worth more than $400 billion (£300 billion) annually, with anticipated year on year growth of 25 per cent.
Patient's seeking weight loss surgery are often lured abroad by cut price deals and before and after weight loss images posted on social media. The out-of-pocket cost for this type of surgery done privately in the UK is around £10, 000 to £15,000, but costs approximately £2,500 to £4,500 in countries, such as Turkey.
Dr Jessica McGirr of the Obesity Research and Care Group RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland and Imperial College London highlight that although cheaper often these packages do not cover care after the operation or long-term nutritional or psychological support that you would be offered in the UK.
An inquest into 40-year-old Hayley Butler, a dog groomer from Norwich who died of organ failure after a sleeve gastrectomy at the Ozel Gozde Hospital in Izmir, revealed the surgery 'had not been done properly'.
A doctor Tanveer Adil, who works at Luton & Dunstable Hospital, explained she died as a result of the procedure and the "lack of safety netting" afterwards.
He added that he had dealt with more than 100 other patients suffering complications after undergoing similar procedures abroad.
On the NHS it can take two or more years from referral for a patient to receive the surgery, plus there are specific requirements to meet.
To be considered for surgery on the NHS, patients need to have a BMI of 40 or more, meaning they are obese. Patients will also need to have tried to lose weight through a healthy diet, exercise and medicine.
Around 4 million people in the UK meet the criteria for surgery, but the NHS only deals with about 5,000 cases each year.
The BMJ report highlights most patients (71 per cent) self-refer for surgery abroad, meaning the surgery may not appropriate for them.
'When considering adverse outcomes, including anastomotic [surgical tissue join in the gut] leakage, sepsis, and even death, equally concerning is the absence of regulation to ensure that only accredited procedures are performed by appropriately qualified providers,' study authors said.
'Further concern arises in the context of medical tourism 'packages' in which patients are offered multiple procedures within the same trip,' which are often accompanied by financial incentives, they added.
A survey of weight loss surgery providers overseas found nearly a third of respondents believed the consent process was 'inappropriate', while 14 per cent believed that patients were personally responsible for surgical complications.
'The need to regulate the bariatric and metabolic tourism industry to mitigate these safety, ethical, and legal risks for patients is essential,' authors argued.
In many cases the NHS is left to pick up the pieces of returning medical tourists after botched surgery.
The current situation 'highlights the need for transnational collaboration among all sectors to implement regulation,' the authors explained, suggesting that bodies, such as the World Trade Organisation, the World Health Organisation, and the European Union, among others, should be involved in a global forum designated with this task.
The BMJ report concluded: 'This unregulated industry presents opportunity for quicker access to effective treatment for individuals with obesity but carries potential safety, ethical, and legal risks.
'The economy and healthcare resources of both home and destination countries may benefit financially from bariatric and metabolic tourism, but the potential for unintended negative consequences and widening health inequity are significant.
'Establishing regulation through transnational collaboration is essential to protect health and health equity.'