A UK court has awarded £858,000 in compensation to the parents of a young Nigerian woman who died after undergoing a low-cost weight loss surgery in Turkey.
Khelisyah Ashamu, a 26-year-old mother of one, died just eight days after a gastric bypass procedure at a hospital in Izmir in February 2019. She had sought the surgery abroad, unhappy with her stomach's appearance after a Caesarean section.
She paid £3,300 to the medical tourism company Get Slim in Turkey, run by British expat Tracey Ozdemir, for an affordable surgery package.
Tragically, after the initial surgery, Khelisyah became unwell and required exploratory follow-up surgery. She subsequently suffered a cardiac arrest and died on February 9, 2019. A coroner ruled the cause of death as gastrointestinal ischaemia due to surgical complications.
Her devastated parents, Toyin and Oyebanji Ashamu, filed a High Court claim against Ozdemir. Although Ozdemir denied responsibility, Senior Judge Mrs Justice Obi ruled in the family's favour.
The judge accepted expert evidence that there had been "inadequate post-operative monitoring and airway care" after the second operation. She also ruled that Ozdemir, as the package organiser, was legally responsible for the surgery and aftercare under package travel regulations.
Addressing the parents after the ruling, Mrs Justice Obi offered her condolences: “I recognise how difficult these proceedings must have been for you and I offer my sincere condolences for the loss of your daughter. Nothing this court can do can lessen that loss, but I hope the conclusion of these proceedings will bring some measure of consolation.”
The case highlights the significant risks associated with medical tourism, particularly for complex procedures like bariatric surgery, and the legal responsibilities of companies arranging such packages.
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