The family of a Scottish grandmother who died after having cosmetic surgery in Turkey have issued a stark warning over the dangers of undergoing procedures abroad.
Carol Keenan, 54, from Fife visited a clinic in Istanbul back in April last year for a Brazilian bum lift and tummy tuck.
She accepted muscle repair surgery for free when she arrived in Turkey, which doctors said would improve the success rate of her tummy tuck.
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But devastated partner Stevie Anderson insists she was not in the right frame of mind to process the information on the third procedure and consider any risks involved, the Mirror reports.
Stevie and Carol's daughter Leonie have said the beloved gran-of-eight had no idea about the pitfalls of undergoing the surgeries when she booked the trip in early 2022. Carol died just six days after undergoing the surgery.
Her family have now decided to speak out after the recent death of Shannon Bowe, 28, who was undergoing gastric band surgery in Turkey on April 1.
Stevie, who travelled with Carol to Turkey for the procedure last year, told STV: "Whether it’s your teeth, hair, gastric band, BBL don’t go.
"They call it medical tourism but there’s nothing fun about it. It’s a life-threatening medical procedure. Even if it’s cheaper it’s not worth it.
"Your life is the most important thing. With us, grandkids have lost their gran, I’ve lost my partner, for something she didn’t need. I didn't want her to go but she was adamant she wanted to go and it was going to make her happy.
"To be honest I wasn’t too compos mentis with what was going on as well. I didn’t really know all the facts and the figures. I was quite naïve as well."
Leonie said her mum was a size 10/12 but she believes due to social media standards and celebrity pictures harbouring unrealistic beauty standards, Carol was convinced she had to change her own physical appearance.
She added: “To me, she was perfect the way she was.”
Carol was doing well in the days after the surgery, Stevie said, but later collapsed in his arms while getting into a taxi.
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He explained: "She got dressed up, make-up on, went down the lift, a taxi was waiting. Just as she stepped in the taxi, she just said, ‘Oh, Stevie’, and just collapsed in my arms.
"And then, there was nobody about, just screaming for help basically. I raised her legs and stuff but, at first, I was worried about her surgery and then I thought, ‘Why are you worrying about that?’ I knew something was badly wrong. But that was her. She was gone."
Carol was rushed to the hospital but pronounced dead shortly after. The family are still waiting for an autopsy to establish the cause of death.
But they hope following Carol and Shannon's deaths, others will consider the risks of cosmetic surgery abroad before deciding to undergo any operations.
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