An influencer who was left with pneumonia, sepsis and blood clots after weight loss surgery said she doesn’t regret her ‘glow up’ despite spending three months in hospital afterwards
A mum who chose to have surgery at a UK clinic after being warned not to go to Turkey claims she was still left ‘butchered’.
Sofia Alessia went from a size 10 to a 16 after putting on weight during her first pregnancy. As she struggled to get back to her former size, she decided that going under the knife was her best option.
The mum and influencer, from Littleborough, Greater Manchester, opted for gastric sleeve surgery which helped her go from a size 16 back to a size 10, but it left her extremely unwell and “constantly throwing up”. She then developed sepsis and was hospitalised – but still claimed it was worth it.
While doing her research on where to go for the surgery, Sofia decided against going to Turkey for cheap surgery – after hearing ”horror stories”. Instead, she opted for a UK-based clinic, which she claims offered her a £3k discount from the £10k surgery – to share her review online.
Just three weeks later, the mum-of-one went in for the three-hour-long gastric sleeve surgery on January 31, 2022. But after coming round from the general anaesthetic, she says felt ”immediately sick”. She was then left reportedly ”constantly throwing up lumps of flesh” and unable to keep any fluids or food down.
Sofia was then discharged 24 hours after her op, but had to call 999 and be rushed to Blackburn Hospital three hours later, where she was treated for pneumonia and blood clots in her lungs for three weeks. She then returned to the private clinic who performed a gastric bypass, which they believed would fix the issues as they allegedly admitted to removing too much of her stomach during the first procedure.
However, this didn’t work, and Sofia’s condition drastically declined as she developed sepsis. Four days later she retuned to NHS care at Worcester Hospital, where surgeons tried to salvage what remained of her stomach. During this final surgery, doctors were able to remove the staples from her bowels and small intestine, which had caused the deadly infection and also spent three weeks receiving nutrition through a tube as she couldn’t keep food down.
Sofia has now lost a total of seven stone, now weighing nine stone, and is recovering back home with daughter Alya-Valentina, four. Despite the drastic decline in her health, and becoming severly unwell, Sofia “loves” her glowup and weight loss.
Recalling her ordeal, Sofia said: “I was always told to never go to Turkey but staying in the UK for it nearly killed me anyway. I couldn’t eat or drink for weeks, everyday was a nightmare that I couldn’t wake up from. I was vomiting lumps of flesh every day and night,” and shared: “I do love my glow up, but I wish I didn’t have to go through hell.”
It wasn’t until she got pregnant she struggled with her weight, as before being a mum the influencer “easily maintained” her trim size 10 figure. She began binging on family-sized packets of crisps and a multipacks of Kinder buenos, and soon inflated to a size 16 and then struggled to shed the pounds after trying to go to the gym and go running.
Sofia said: “I didn’t know what do. I knew I wasn’t happy for my size, but I couldn’t stop binge eating. I needed help.” After piling on the pounds, the new mum booked in for weight loss surgery at what she believed to be a reputable clinic, in January 31, 2022.
“I was really happy with my original surgeon but they switched them last minute. I was nervous but I had already booked it all and didn’t feel like I could pull out. I just wanted to get started.” After the surgery, which she claimed had removed a large part of her stomach, leaving just a thin sleeve, she woke to find herself ”uncontrollably vomiting” and feeling extremely dehydrated.
“I begged a nurse to save my life and begged for other doctors,” she said. “I didn’t think I would ever say my daughter again. I wasn’t getting answers and I felt like I was losing a bit of myself everyday. The surgeon called my mum and told her that I might die, my family was distraught.”
On March 25, 2022, NHS doctors performed a successful surgery to remove staples from the lower intestine and stomach, and they drained the infection from her body. After three months in hospital, on April 9 she returned home.
Sofia, who now has multiple scars on her stomach, has now lost seven but has been left with an internal hernia which requires another surgery to remove. She said: “Everyone told me to never go to Turkey for weight loss surgery. But I paid £10k here and I still was left butchered. I’m still recovering, but day by day my body is healing and weight loss surgery isn’t worth the pain.”
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