Janet Lynne Savage, from Bangor, Gwynedd had a slashed artery following the operation – causing her to go into cardiac arrest – and she died in a hospital in Turkey
Heartbreaking tributes have been paid to a Brit driving examiner who died after she flew to Turkey for a gastric sleeve procedure.
Janet Lynne Savage bled to death after the surgery went wrong and, despite the efforts of emergency teams, the mother of two was declared dead in intensive care.
An inquest heard the 54-year-old woman, from Bangor, Gwynedd, went into cardiac arrest after sustaining a slashed artery during the operation. She died of acute blood loss, the coroner said on Monday.
The inquest heard a poignant tribute from Caernarfon Driving School, which said: “Just heard the sad news that Jan Savage one of our examiners at the Bangor Test centre has passed away. Our thoughts are obviously with her family at this upsetting time.”
The inquest heard how Mrs Savage got in touch with a health travel firm called Regenesis Health Travel from July 2023 – based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. The firm organises flights, hotels, surgical and non-surgical procedures at Ozel Rich Hospital.
Mrs Savage booked her surgery within 24 hours, and a month later, flew to Turkey for the procedure. The mum had told the health tourism firm that she had already taken Ozempic, but no longer had access to it, and was worried about rapidly gaining weight. Her aim was to lose three stone (19kg). Mrs Savage told Regenesis Health Travel that her body mass index (BMI) was 30.7.
According to BMI guidelines, this number would have put her at the beginning point of the obese range, which runs from 30 to 30.9. Alison Ergun, a client service officer for Regenesis, said she was contacted on the day of the surgery. She said: “There was a complication and she had stopped breathing in the first few minutes of surgery.”
Senior coroner for North West Wales, Kate Robertson, said translated notes from Janet’s surgeon, Dr Ramazan Azar, described how there had been a 3-4mm “defect” in the aorta artery when the operation began, which caused bleeding. He added that this was then repaired by the surgical team, and following the complications, the gastric sleeve procedure was cancelled.
But medics in the hospital’s intensive care unit later found that the mum’s heart had stopped beating and she was pronounced dead in the early hours of the morning.
The coroner said she ordered a post-mortem examination when Mrs Savage’s body was repatriated to Wales, which was carried out at Glan Clwyd Hospital. Pathologist Muhammad Aslam reported that the mum’s cause of death was acute bleeding from the abdominal aorta, that had been repaired. The coroner passed on her condolences to Mrs Savage’s family.
The NHS warns travellers to be extra cautious if making plans to have surgery abroad. In a post online, it says: “Be cautious of websites selling cosmetic surgery as part of a holiday. “If you’re looking at holiday packages: make sure you have a consultation with the surgeon (avoid meetings only with sales people).
“Do not pay for a hospital you have never seen. Do not pay to see a surgeon you have not met “While it’s possible to have a holiday before surgery, it’s unrealistic to have one straight after as this can increase the risk of things going wrong.
“You need to rest. You should not drink alcohol, lie in the sun, go sightseeing or go in the water.”
