Mother and daughter warn others not to travel abroad for cheap cosmetic surgery after botched tummy tucks in Turkey left them with dead flesh and enormous scars

• WARNING: This article contains graphic images of post-surgery scars 
• Jacqui Wicks, 60, and Tracy Visagie, 36, went to Turkey for cosmetic surgery
• Both women were left needing corrective surgery after botched operations
• Appeared on ITV’s This Morning warning others not to go abroad for surgery

A mother who was left ‘disfigured’ after she and her daughter had botched cosmetic operations in Turkey has warned others: ‘Don’t do it.’

Jacqui Wicks, 60, from Ramsgate, Kent, went to Turkey with her daughter Tracy Visagie, 36, after the pair each booked a nip and tuck for themselves.

Appearing on ITV’s This Morning, the mother and daughter told presenters Josie Gibson and Craig Doyle they both ended up having more operations in the UK after their flesh ‘died’.

Jacqui, who appeared on the sofa wearing a device to drain her wound, said: ‘My daughter had initially decided she was going to have this “mummy makeover” because she had lost five stone in weight.

‘It was only a few weeks before she went that I thought, “If I’m going out there anyway with her I might as well take advantage and have surgery myself”.’

The grandmother added: ‘I felt I needed it. I just needed a confidence boost.’

Tracey explained she had booked a tummy tuck, a breast lift, monsplasty (which lifts skin from the pubic area) and liposuction. 

After deciding to have surgery herself, Tracey also booked in for a tummy tuck.

Tracey had been quoted £13,000 in the UK for her operations – but after doing some research she found a clinic in Turkey that offered the same procedures for £5,700.

Whereas Jacqui had been quoted £10,000 in the UK, the Turkish clinic cost just £4,000.

Jacqui Wicks, 60, and Tracey Visagie, 36, both need corrective surgery after botched tummy tucks in Turkey

Jacqui (pictured in hospital) explained an existing gall bladder scar on her t meant she should never have been allowed to have a tummy tuck in the first place

But after having their operations on 1 April, both women realised they hadn’t got what they paid for.

Tracey said she first realised something wasn’t quite right when clinic staff injected her with general anaesthetic in the hallway of the clinic – but by then it was too late to take back her decision.

She also claimed the surgeon had ‘decided not to do’ the monsplasty and liposuction while she was on the operating table.

‘He’d neglected to do certain surgeries which meant that aesthetically, I didn’t get what I wanted,’ she said.

Tracey added there was a more serious consequence to the botched procedure and she had been left with necrosis on one of her nipples.

Necrosis is the death of body tissue, which occurs when not enough blood flows into the tissue.

She said: ‘The surgeon I saw for corrective surgery here said [the first surgeon] just left the nipple off too long.’

Jacqui, 60, said she now has a vaccum-type cleaner on her wound which cleans it from the inside

Jacqui’s scar (pictured) will take a long time to heal and she will need a skin graft once it has

Jacqui and Tracey spoke to Josie Gibson and Craig Doyle while Dr Veerle Rotsaert (right) warned people not to travel abroad for cosmetic surgery

Tracey added she now has no feeling in her nipple.

For Jacqui things were even more serious. 

She said: ‘I’ve got a gall bladder scar that goes diagonally across my tummy. 

‘I didn’t know until I came back to the UK and saw other surgeons but I was told here that the surgeon out there should never have agreed to operate.’

She added her ‘flesh died’ because her initial scar disrupted the blood flow. Since returning to the UK, Jacqui has had two corrective operations.

She explained: ‘I’ve got a vacuum therapy machine fitted to the wound to help it heal from the inside out and I will need a skin graft once this comes off.’

After checking the clinic’s online reviews and Instagram page, which showed before-and-after photos of successful procedures, the mother and daughter thought they had found a safe and reputable surgeon.

However they did not meet with their surgeon before flying out to Turkey and instead had a consultation with a third party.

‘We thought this was normal because of the language barrier,’ Tracey told the presenters.

Her mother Jacqui added: ‘We were none the wiser.’

Since returning to the UK and speaking to other women who have had similar experiences, the mother and daughter claim they have been told the clinic ‘forced’ people to take down negative online reviews.

Cosmetic surgeon Dr Veerle Rotsaert said there were several ‘red flags’ associated with Jacqui and Tracey’s stories – including the fact the mother and daughter were given a fit-to-fly certificate so soon after having major surgery.

She explained: ‘You cannot fly because you are at severe risk of deep vein thrombosis, blood clots and pulmonary embolism.’ 

When asked their advice for other people considering having cosmetic surgery abroad, the mother and daughter replied: ‘Don’t do it.’

Jacqui said: ‘I’m going to be disfigured, obviously, because the scar isn’t a nice thin line like it was supposed to be. That’s what I signed up for.’

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