Australian woman develops rare infection after a tummy tuck

An Australian woman who underwent a routine tummy tuck only to get an extremely rare and deadly infection eight days later was put in a coma to save her life. 

Brenna McIntosh, who grew up in Tasmania, was scheduled for an abdominoplasty – more commonly referred to as a ‘tummy tuck’ – on March 23 after losing 50 kilos naturally. 

But eight days after the surgery to remove her excess skin things ‘took a turn’ and Brenna developed an infection in her lower abdomen that turned septic.

Sepsis can be a life-threatening condition that occurs when the body’s response to an infection damages its own tissues. 

‘She was too unstable to be transferred to a hospital with plastic surgeons, so a plastic surgeon was brought to her,’ her friend Lauren Vanderven wrote on a GoFundMe page.

‘She was taken to theatre on Thursday night where they found things were much worse than they first thought.’

Doctors discovered Brenna was suffering from an extremely rare condition that is sometimes referred to as the ‘flesh-eating disease’.

There has only been one other case documented in the world of necrotising fasciitis after a tummy tuck and as a result Brenna was intubated and placed in a coma.

She is now in The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne recovering. She was brought out of the coma just two days ago. 

Doctors discovered Brenna was suffering from an extremely rare condition that is sometimes referred to as the ‘flesh-eating disease’

‘Since arriving at the Alfred on Friday night Brenna has received hyperbaric oxygen therapy twice a day as the necrotising fascitis is slowed down by oxygen. She also has had surgery every day to clear as much dead tissue and infection as possible,’ Lauren said.

‘As a result of this Brenna will have a long recovery ahead of her, resulting in multiple months off work and loss of income.

‘As expenses don’t stop, we would love to raise money to get her across to Tassie to her family when she is ready and cover all her living costs for the next few months until she is well enough to return to work and help her family be with her in Melbourne as long as needed without the financial pressure.’

‘Since arriving at the Alfred on Friday night Brenna has received Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy twice a day as the necrotising fascitis is slowed down by oxygen,’ her friend Lauren reported

Brenna is posting regular updates to her TikTok page, showing that she is awake and excited for her next surgery so she gets one step closer to recovering

Alongside the GoFundMe page friends have also organised a raffle to help cover much-needed funds for the young woman.

Brenna is posting regular updates to her TikTok page, showing that she is awake and excited for her next surgery so she gets one step closer to recovering. 

‘Brenna has made so many people smile both in-person and through social media, so let’s give her a reason to smile,’ Lauren said.