A mother-of-three nearly died after she paid £2,500 for a tummy tuck at a surgery in Tunisia which left her with a tennis ball-sized hole in her stomach.
Abigail Fernandez said she was ‘horrified’ after her wound became infected following the botched surgery.
The 32-year-old from Newquay, Cornwall is now urging people to think twice before going under the knife abroad and said despite the discount of the surgery in Tunisia, she ended up paying a ‘high price’ afterwards.
Abigail said she risked her life to get her ‘dream body’ after she began to feel self-conscious about her figure after having three children.
Abigail Fernandez (pictured above) flew to Tunisia in January to have the cut price surgery
Pictures after the surgery show that Abigail was left with a hole in her stomach. She said she almost died because of the procedure
‘I wish I’d never had the surgery. Always research your surgeon and the clinic extensively. I thought I had, but I wish I’d dug a bit deeper.’
After giving birth to her three children, Penelope, one, Declan, 7, and Max, 10, Falmouth University student Abigail hated the saggy stomach she’d been left with.
‘All three were delivered by Caesarean section so I was left with scars, stretch marks and sagging skin.
‘I love my children dearly and would never change them for the world, but I longed to be as confident with my body as I was before I was a mum.
‘No matter how many hours I went to the gym, nothing helped. It made me incredibly self-conscious of my figure.’
After the surgery, which cost just £2,500, Abigail was left with a tennis ball size hole in her stomach
Determined to get help, in November 2018 Abigail visited her GP who said she’d have to go private if she wanted surgery.
Abigail discovered that a tummy tuck and breast lift would cost £10,000 in the UK, so she decided to look abroad.
She said she came across an advert for cheap surgery in Tunisia which cost £2,500 for a tummy tuck, she also said that the reviews online had been ‘really positive’.
‘I contacted the clinic and they sent me lots of information. They said I’d recover in a five-star hotel afterwards.
‘In the end, it was too expensive to get the breast lift as well so I just opted for a tummy tuck.
Abigail said she loves her children dearly but had longed for her confidence to come back. She is pictured above with daughter Penelope
‘With the flights, I spent around £2,800.’
In January this year, Abigail flew to Tunisia, but the hotel wasn’t the five-star luxury she’d been promised.
According to Abigail when she arrived in the room, the bedsheets looked worn, the floor was dirty and the tiles were cracked.
‘I started to doubt my decision, but when I arrived at the clinic the next day, I was relieved to see it was spotless’, she said.
Abigail underwent the four-hour operation and when she woke up, she felt fine. But the next morning, she was in agony.
‘My body felt like it was on fire and I begged nurses for painkillers. They told me I was being discharged that day, I was horrified.
‘I could barely move!
‘I pleaded with them so staff let me stay another night, but I was still in a lot of pain the next day.’
Despite this, Abigail was discharged from the clinic and taken to her hotel where she stayed another two nights.
On the return flight, her vision was blurry, her head was spinning and her stomach had swollen to the size of a basketball.
Back at home, Abigail woke the following morning with her bandages soaked in blood.
She visited her GP who said her wound was infected, and cleaned it with antiseptic wash and put on a fresh dressing.
But over the next few days, the wound gaped to the size of a tennis ball and green liquid oozed out.
Abigail says: ‘It was disgusting. I emailed pictures to the clinic, but they insisted it was fine. I couldn’t believe it.
‘My complaints were completely ignored. Two weeks after my operation, I was in so much pain that I had to call for an ambulance.’
Abigail was rushed to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro. By this point her stomach was so swollen, she struggled to breathe.
At the hospital, doctors revealed the swelling was due to a hematoma – a clot of blood that had formed outside of Abigail’s blood vessels.
‘Doctors burst it and revealed that if I’d have left it longer, I’d have died.
‘I was horrified.’
Abigail was kept in hospital for four weeks and the infection was cut out to stop it from spreading.
Now she’s been left with a nine-inch scar across her stomach.
‘I’ve been butchered, it’s even worse than before. I cry when I see myself naked now.
‘I’m saving up for revision surgery in the UK to repair the damage which will cost around £3,000.
‘I’m so self-conscious that I’ll never dream of wearing a bikini again.
‘Don’t go for surgery abroad, I wish I hadn’t. It seemed like I was getting a good deal, but I’ve paid a high price.’