A Kiwi mum wants to warn others, after weight loss surgery in Mexico left her fighting for her life.
She says it was on the journey home when things went downhill.
"I remember standing up to go to the toilet mid-flight and feeling really dizzy. I wasn't feeling right, fatigued. And then the stomach cramps started. But I just ignored it, thinking I'm just healing."
When she arrived back in New Zealand, she was rushed to hospital. Doctors found a leak in her stomach had formed a 6cm abscess, which had turned septic.
She remembers being told she was lucky to be alive.
Christchurch weight loss surgeon Steven Kelly says such complications are all too common, and local doctors are left to pick up the pieces.
"We've had numerous patients with leaks and holes in their stomachs. Patients have had multi drug resistant organisms they've picked up from dirty hospitals overseas. We've had patients with poorly and incorrectly performed surgeries who've had swabs left in abdomens."
The consequences can be fatal.
"There have been a number of New Zealanders who have died going overseas for bariatric surgeries," he said.
Steven's urging Kiwis to rethink going overseas.
"New Zealand weight loss surgeons do not recommend that Kiwis go overseas for weight loss surgery. However if people decide they want to go overseas, they need to do their homework very carefully.
"People need to make sure they go to a reputable surgeon and facility," he said.
Weight loss surgeries can cost from $25-30,000 here in New Zealand, but an all inclusive trip to Mexico for it is almost half the price.
Steven wants there to be a "significant increase in the number of bariatric surgeries offered here" as well as better options for those who can't afford the procedure.
For this mum of one, those initial savings have come at a great cost. She's urging others to make a different decision, and get it done at home.
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