A mother-of-four who starved to death over 18 months after having botched gastric sleeve surgery in Turkey was made so ill that she could not eat without vomiting, her family have said.
What happened
Shannon Meenan Browse, 32, from Creggan, Northern Ireland died last week after travelling abroad in February last year to receive the weight loss surgery.
She passed away from multiple organ failure at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry.
Following surgery, her illness became so bad that her teeth rotted and her hair fell out, and she was unable to eat any solid food.
Shannon had successfully lost nearly five stone with the help of a personal trainer and an exercise programme, but was unable to carry on after she developed myopathy – a disease which affects the voluntary movement of muscles.
Risks associated with weight loss surgery, according to the NHS, can include difficulty swallowing, blood clots and in rare cases death.
After surgery
According to Shannon’s husband Don, she started to go downhill just weeks after having the operation.
He said that all she was only able to drink the water from Pot Noodles, and had cramps and pain, the Mirror reported.
She slowly deteriorated over a period of 17 to 18 months, when she would regularly go to the doctors to be rehydrated.
People should be aware of the risks of weight loss surgery, Don said, adding that poor reviews were often removed.
In July Shannon was awaiting a transfer to a hospital in London to undergo life-saving liver transplant surgery.
Her parents Shane and Kathleen had also tragically lost their son this summer.
Shannon leaves behind a 14-year-old, seven-year-old twins and a boy who turned five just days after she died.
Grieving father Shane said that it was hard to get care for Shannon on the NHS and that help only stepped up when she was at ‘death’s door’, but said the family were grateful for the care received in Northern Ireland.
He advised people to ‘look before you leap’ before opting to have treatment abroad.
