Milena Mancini, 50, died after having abdominal liposuction at a clinic in Turkey – her family only found out about the surgery after she was admitted to intensive care
A businesswoman has died after liposuction surgery in Turkey left her in a coma.
Milena Mancini, 50, died yesterday morning in the intensive care unit of Istanbul’s ISU Medical Park Gaziosmanpaşa hospital, 20 days after undergoing the weight loss procedure at a private clinic.
She had travelled to Turkey in September with one of her daughters from their home in Italy – but about 36 hours after the operation, she reportedly began suffering severe abdominal pain. Reports said her intestine was perforated during the surgery, triggering an infection.
Her uncle Luigi Di Palma told Italian media: “During the operation, she suffered a complication and appears to have contracted an infection at the clinic.”
Her relatives only found out about the surgery after she was admitted to intensive care, with some flying to Turkey to be by her side.
Luigi said: “None of us in the family knew anything about it – we didn’t even know Milena had gone to Turkey for this cosmetic procedure, so it came as a real shock.
“She and her husband didn’t want us to worry.”
Her condition deteriorated, and by the time she died, she had been in a coma for several days. A post-mortem will be carried out in Italy once her body is returned home.
Milena, from Isola del Liri, a town southeast of Rome, ran an estate agency after years working as a financial consultant. Her company had opened a new branch in nearby Frosinone just weeks before the ill-fated trip.
She is survived by her husband Umberto, daughters Alice and Juditta, father Alvaro, and sisters Rita and Sara. Luigi described her as a “determined and capable woman” and a “warm, cheerful person who got along with everyone”.
In July, an inquest heard how a young British woman died when her liposuction and tummy tuck cosmetic surgery in Turkey went horribly wrong.
Rochdale Coroners’ Court heard that Ruby Khan, 30, from Oldham, went to Turkey for the procedure at Medical Point International Hospital in Izmir on Sunday, April 6.
Police Coroner’s Officer Katie Burrows said the surgery had ‘started well’, but that her heart rate then spiked after the surgeon had carried out part of the procedure. Doctors were able to get a faint heartbeat, but the housing officer died a day later, on Monday, April 7. A full inquest has been scheduled for October 30.