A woman who forked out £10,000 on weight loss surgery was left ‘throwing up lumps of flesh’ and felt as though she was ‘dying’ after getting sepsis.
Sofia Alessia, from Littleborough, Greater Manchester, piled on the pounds during and after her first pregnancy and went from size 10 to a size 16.
She would binge eat on family-sized packets of crisps and a multi packs of Kinder Buenos.
After tipping the scales at 16 stone, she tried going to the gym and running but struggled due to ’emotional eating’ and decided surgery was her best bet.
Sofia said: ‘I didn’t know what do. I knew I wasn’t happy for my size, but I couldn’t stop binge eating. I needed help.’
While researching online, Sofia, 27, decided against going to Turkey for cheap surgery after hearing ‘horror stories’.
She ended up picking what she believed to be a reputable UK-based clinic named Transform Hospital Group and claims they offered her a £3,000 discount on the surgery to share her review online.
Just three weeks later, the mother-of-one went in for the three-hour long gastric sleeve surgery on January 31, 2022.
Sofia Alessia, from Littleborough, Greater Manchester, piled on the pounds after and during her first pregnancy and went from size 10 to a size 16 (pictured before surgery)
After the surgery (pictured), Sofia has lost a total of seven stone and now weighs nine stone
Sofia said she threw up ‘lumps of flesh’ after going under the knife and says she couldn’t eat or drink for weeks
Sofia said: ‘I was really happy with my original surgeon but they switched them last minute.
‘I was nervous but I had already booked it all and didn’t feel like I could pull out. I just wanted to get started.’
But after waking up from the general anaesthetic, Sofia says felt ‘immediately sick’.
Over the following days, she was left ‘constantly throwing up lumps of flesh’ and unable to keep any fluids or food down.
The influencer said: ‘I was always told to never go to Turkey. But staying in the UK for it nearly killed me anyway.
‘I couldn’t eat or drink for weeks. Everyday was a nightmare that I couldn’t wake up from.
‘I was vomiting lumps of flesh every day and night. I do love my glow up, but I wish I didn’t have to go through hell.’
After the procedure to remove a large part of her stomach, leaving just a thin sleeve, she woke to find herself ‘uncontrollably vomiting’ and feeling extreme dehydration.
Sofia is pictured cuddling her young daughter before undergoing the weight loss surgery
Sofia Alessia and her daughter Alya-Valentina, four, after the weight loss surgery
Sofia was discharged home after 24 hours but ended up calling 999 and being rushed to Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital only three hours later.
During this time, Sofia’s mother, Lisanne Meadowcroft, a 53-year-old nurse trainer, looked after her four-year-old daughter, Ayla-Valentina.
The content creator was then moved to Worcester Royal Hospital four days later for further treatment and was fitted with a feeding tube.
It was later revealed that Sofia had two blood clots located in each lung and she was kept under NHS care for three weeks.
Sofia said: ‘I hadn’t seen my family in days, and I couldn’t keep anything down.
‘I felt like I was dying, and everything was getting worse and worse.’
Her condition continued to deteriorate, and she developed pneumonia, while doctors discovered that more than 80 per cent of her stomach had been removed causing a stricture.
Communication continued with the clinic as they sent a care package worth of £250 of aftercare products and arranged to fix the botched surgery themselves, even sending transportation to transfer her back to their premises.
She also received roses along with the note: ‘We are sorry for your experience in our reception today fell short of the service standard we strive to exceed.
‘We look forward to caring for you and supporting your journey. David and the Transform Hospital Team.’
A couple of months later on 21 March 2022, Sofia underwent a gastric bypass, but due to the issues with the previous surgery, they were forced to remove ‘almost all’ of her stomach.
During the procedure, the surgeon stapled her bowel into her smaller intestine which caused chronic sepsis to quickly develop.
Sofia roses from Transform Hospital Group along with a note apologising
Sofia is pictured with her daughter before having the weight loss surgery
The mother-of-one would binge eat on family-sized packets of crisps and a multi packs of Kinder Buenos (pictured before surgery)
Sofia said she thought she might die after getting sepsis. Pictured after the weight loss surgery with her daughter
She went straight back to Worcester Royal Hospital for further treatment.
‘I begged a nurse to save my life and begged for other doctors,’ she said.
‘I didn’t think I would ever say my daughter again.
‘I wasn’t getting answers and I felt like I was losing a bit of myself everyday.
‘The surgeon called my mum and told her that I might die.
‘My family was distraught. The clinic was talking to me every day over WhatsApp.’
For two weeks after the procedure, Sofia was left in Worcester Royal Hospital completely weak and unable to even lift her phone.
A couple of days later on March 25, NHS doctors performed a successful surgery to remove staples from the lower intestine and stomach, and they drained the infection from her body.
On April 9 she returned home, after weeks of hospital treatment.
Sofia, who now has multiple scars on her stomach, has been left with an internal hernia which requires another surgery to remove.
Sofia has lost a total of seven stone and now weighs nine stone.
Sofia said: ‘Everyone told me to never go to Turkey for weight loss surgery.
‘But I paid £10k here and I still was left butchered.
‘I’m still recovering, but day by day my body is healing.
‘Weight loss surgery isn’t worth the pain.
A spokesperson for Transform said: ‘Transform Hospital Group Limited entered administration in October 2022. Transform acquired the assets of the previous company and we can see from patient records that several attempts were made to contact Sofia to discuss her condition after her surgery, however these were unsuccessful.
‘Whilst we offer Sofia our sympathy, we are unable to assist her as this occurred under the care of a different organisation.’
SIX MAJOR SIGNS OF SEPSIS
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused when the body releases chemicals to fight an infection.
These chemicals damage the body’s own tissues and organs and can lead to shock, organ failure and death.
Organ failure and death are more likely if sepsis is not recognized early and treated immediately.
Sepsis infects an estimated 55,000 Australians each year, killing between 5,000 and 9,000 making it more than four times deadlier than the road toll.
The symptoms can look like gastro or flu and can become deadly, rapidly.
The six major signs of something potentially deadly can be identified by the acronym ‘SEPSIS’:
- Slurred speech or confusion, lethargy, disorientation
- Extreme shivering or muscle pain, fever or low temperature
- Pressing a rash doesn’t make it fade
- Severe breathlessness, rapid breathing
- Inability to pass urine for several hours
- Skin that’s mottled or discoloured
Children may also show convulsions or fits, and a rash that doesn’t fade when you press it – and more than 40 per cent of cases occur in children under five.
Anyone who develops these symptoms should seek medical help urgently — and ask doctors: ‘Could this be sepsis?’
Sepsis is a leading cause of avoidable death killing about 10,000 Australians each year
The early symptoms of sepsis can be easily confused with more mild conditions, making it difficult to diagnose.
A high temperature (fever), chills and shivering, a fast heartbeat and rapid breathing are also indicators.
A patient can rapidly deteriorate if sepsis is missed early on, so quick diagnosis and treatment is vital – yet this rarely happens.
In the early stages, sepsis can be mistaken for a chest infection, flu or upset stomach.
It is most common and dangerous in older adults, pregnant women, children younger than one, people with chronic conditions or those who have weakened immune systems.
