'I could have died': Kiwi woman’s overseas weight-loss surgery nightmare

A woman says she fears she "could have died" after travelling to Türkiye for a major reconstructive surgery which she says resulted in severe complications.

Dozens of New Zealanders travel each month to countries such as Türkiye for bariatric surgery, drawn by lower prices and shorter waiting times.

However, surgeons have reported some patients returning with serious — and even life-threatening — complications.

Helen Watson made the decision to travel from her Fielding home to the Medicana International Clinic in Istanbul for a gastric sleeve operation after battling with her weight for years.

Bariatric surgery can cost up to $30,000 in New Zealand, but in Türkiye, Watson said it cost just $10,000.

She told Breakfast that everything initially seemed to be going as expected — until she woke up after the surgery.

"When I woke up, I vomited blood. The doctors reassured me that this was normal, but I didn’t feel like it was. Something felt wrong straight away."

Medicana Hospital, where Watson had her surgery in Türkiye, said the procedure was "performed in accordance with internationally accepted bariatric surgery standards."

"During the patient’s stay in the hospital, daily postoperative monitoring revealed no evidence of abnormal drainage, leakage, or related complications."

Following several days of observation in Istanbul, she returned to New Zealand, where her condition began to worsen.

Watson said she experienced persistent dry-retching and severe dehydration, eventually going to hospital, where scans raised concerns about the surgery she had received.

"The surgeon told me that if I had left it for one more day, I could have died. It was a race against time, and I genuinely thought I wasn’t going to make it."

Watson was told she was leaking internally, had far more staples than expected, and was septic. She has since undergone six operations and would need a full stomach reconstruction.

She was now waiting to find out whether ACC will cover the treatment she has needed since returning to New Zealand.

ACC's head of service operations, Phil Riley, said they may be able to cover injuries resulting from surgery undertaken overseas if the case meets its treatment injury criteria, including whether the injury was caused by treatment delivered by a health professional whose qualifications meet New Zealand's equivalency standards.

For Watson, the impact was beyond physical and financial.

"I feel incredibly isolated, like I’ve lost years of my life through this."

Medicana Hospital said the procedure was "performed in accordance with internationally accepted bariatric surgery standards."

"During the patient’s stay in the hospital, daily postoperative monitoring revealed no evidence of abnormal drainage, leakage, or related complications."

The hospital added "late postoperative complications may be caused by a variety of factors" and claims the “patient did not comply with the diet given after returning.”

"Our international patients are medically approved for travel to their home countries only if their health status is deemed suitable for return to their home country."

“The patient was fully informed about potential complications.”

It also said international patients are invited to return for free complication management care.

According to surgeons and health officials, Watson's experience reflects a wider pattern they are seeing in patients returning from overseas bariatric surgery.

Weight-loss surgeon Dr Angela Bayly said there had been a steady presentation of complications from overseas procedures, and that while complications can occur in New Zealand, the profile of cases coming back from offshore is often very different.

"We see the complications managed differently. They don’t appear to be managed to a standard of care that we would expect here."

She said in some cases, patients appear to be put on planes home when they already know something is wrong.

"Bariatric complications can have lifelong consequences."

Health New Zealand's Chief Medical Officer, Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard, said the organisation was concerned about the increasing number of New Zealanders travelling overseas for surgery.

"Noting that services are of variable quality, some do not have the same safeguards as those present in New Zealand and surgery is often just one part of the package of care required."

Stokes-Lampard said people should carefully consider their options and understand the risks, particularly around long-haul travel before and after major surgery, which is categorised as high risk within four to six weeks of an operation.

New Zealand has one of the highest adult obesity rates in the OECD, with around one in three adults classified as obese. Excess weight is linked to a range of chronic conditions, including diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

Dr Bayly said surgery is often seen as an “end-point solution”, but long-term outcomes rely heavily on access to good dietary information, affordable and accessible healthy food, and psychology and support services.

Health New Zealand said it is focused on improving access to elective surgeries, including bariatric procedures, and reducing waitlists nationwide