Jade, a 25-year-old mum from Essex, travelled to Belgium for the op – but immediately regretted it
Back in 2018, Jade, then 25 and a mum from Essex, made the journey to Belgium for cosmetic breast surgery. What she had hoped would be a procedure to boost her confidence quickly descended into a nightmare – leaving her traumatised physically, emotionally, and financially.
Her story serves as a stark warning about the risks of seeking unregulated cosmetic procedures overseas and the urgent need for stronger safeguards to protect British patients. At the time, Jade – who has chosen not to reveal her surname – wanted to restore her breasts’ shape following childbirth. She was put in touch with the Belgian clinic through a friend’s recommendation.
Initially advised she would require a breast uplift, the surgeon later persuaded her that implants on their own would do the job. Eager to avoid noticeable scarring, Jade consented, completely unaware of the ordeal ahead.
The moment she touched down in Belgium, alarm bells should have rung. There was no airport collection, no accommodation sorted, and no hospital transport arranged.
The Belgian clinic bore little resemblance to a proper medical facility, and when she arrived for surgery, there was not a single member of staff to be seen. Jade and her mate were left standing on the pavement waiting for someone to show up. Even more worryingly, there were no medical checks whatsoever – no blood tests, no weight measurements, no paperwork.
Jade ended up with teardrop-shaped implants, despite asking for a fuller, rounder appearance. “He gave me the opposite of what I asked for,” she said afterwards.
After her operation, she found herself waking up alone in a cold, dark room without any support garments or a nurse nearby. She was left to dress herself and was discharged just hours later, without proper aftercare, pain relief or a fit-to-fly certificate. She flew back to the UK just three days post-surgery, in pain and narrowly avoiding being denied boarding due to the lack of a fit-to-fly letter. Within a few months, the implants had dropped significantly, leaving her looking “worse than before.”
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Deeply dissatisfied, she returned to Belgium for corrective surgery, shelling out money she could not afford. Her mum stepped in to help. The second surgery was equally disastrous. Jade’s nipples were unevenly cut, and the uplift was poorly done.
The scarring was severe and asymmetrical, with the surgeon failing to use existing incision lines, resulting in additional scarring and long-term physical and emotional trauma. There was also an immediate issue post-operation. Since Jade had not been weighed, there was no accurate way to determine the correct amount of anaesthetic.
Consequently, the medical team could not wake Jade up for over eight hours and avoided calls from her worried mother, who was trying to arrange a pick-up time.
It was not until 2023, whilst on a separate journey to the medical tourism hub of Turkey for dental treatment, that Jade met somebody who’d undergone successful breast surgery through the firm Longevita. Deeply impressed by the outstanding outcomes Longevita had delivered, Jade got in touch with the company and had her operation in Istanbul with Professor Dr Fuat in November 2024.
Longevita arranged comprehensive pre-surgical assessments, managed all arrangements including transport and lodging, and conducted the procedure in a top-tier hospital environment. Jade viewed authentic Longevita patient outcomes in advance – something the Belgian facility and surgeon had declined to provide.
“The results with Longevita were life-changing,” Jade says. “The uplift and implants gave me the look I had hoped for all those years ago. For the first time, I feel confident in my body.”
Her experience stands as a sobering warning about the dangers linked to inadequately regulated foreign clinics. She now supports Longevita’s push for UK government legislation that would safeguard patients from unscrupulous operators.
This encompasses limiting marketing to UK residents, requiring pre-procedure medical evaluations, and guaranteeing availability of travel insurance covering post-surgical complications.
“If laws had been in place to protect people like me, I might have been spared years of pain, stress, and financial loss,” she says. “No one should have to go through what I did just to feel confident again.”