I woke up after weight loss surgery & my stomach was next to me in plastic bag, I was horrified

A WOMAN was left horrified after discovering her stomach in a plastic bag following a gastric sleeve operation.

Rosie Ritchie from Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, travelled to Turkey with her sister for the weight loss surgery last July.

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She went from 26 stone to 13 stone after the op.

But the 24-year-old mum claims she was left “screaming in pain” due to complications from the procedure, which removed around 80% of her stomach.

Meanwhile, Rosie’s sister developed sepsis after falling ill on the plane home.

She told STV News: “I was so scared travelling to Turkey. I hadn’t been abroad for years due to my weight.

“When I woke up after surgery, I looked to the side of me and my stomach was in a clear plastic bag beside me.

“A member of staff then told me they needed to keep it for 72 hours in case they had to put it back inside me or if I developed any complications.

“I was horrified and thought ‘what I have I done?’”

Rosie says her complications included acid in her mouth and bile coming from her nose.

She couldn’t eat properly and could only tolerate water and protein shakes.

Hospital tests later revealed she had suffered internal bleeding and inflamed ulcers.

Medics also discovered the entrance to her stomach was only 12mm, when it should have been 20mm.

Rosie added: “Every six weeks I now have a horrendous procedure to try and fix this, which involves a scope down my throat and you feel like you can’t breathe.

“I have had this ten times and the last time they injected Botox. They said this was a last resort measure before they consider other possible surgical routes to try and help me. I’m still waking up twice a week choking on bile.”

Rosie is now warning others to be cautious when considering surgery abroad.

She said: “Please research where you are going. Look at the surgeon, what qualifications they have, research the hospital, its surroundings.

“I didn’t really give myself the time to think about it. I did a little bit of research online but I clearly didn’t do enough. I didn’t consider how it would impact on my mental health.”

When Rosie approached the Istanbul clinic about her experience, bosses apologised and insisted her complications “don’t usually happen”.

Earlier this year, we told how a young Scots woman died after undergoing gastric band surgery in Turkey.