TV star Lauren Simon has revealed that she was left fighting for her life after undergoing what she described as “stomach-churning” free surgery in Turkey. The Real Housewives of Cheshire star opened up about the results of her near-fatal procedure, which took more than a year to heal from, leaving her with a black nipple and gaping holes in her breast.
Details of the Surgery
During an appearance on Good Morning Britain, the 54-year-old explained that she travelled to Turkey with a friend and went under the knife for a nose job and breast reduction as part of a “collaboration” with the clinic. “This clinic is a massive clinic, it’s worldwide, it’s got thousands of followers on social media, on Instagram,” she told hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls. “Because it was my friend’s collaboration and she was part of this clinic, she gets people from the UK and takes them over. I trusted her.”
Lauren confirmed that the surgery was “free as part of the collaboration”. She added that she knew who the doctors were because they were “all over social media” and she had seen their work, but she had never met them until the morning of the surgery.
Complications and Recovery
Things took a turn days after the operation when she noticed that her “left breast was going black”. While the clinic staff assured her that it was “fine”, her condition worsened. Host Susanna Reid, who had issued a warning to viewers over the painful pictures, said: “Your left breast went black, and the surgery team had to spend 24 hours pricking your breast in order to keep it alive. They wanted to send you home with a black nipple. You had two holes under your breast, pressing green liquid out. You were tired all the time, and you were very poorly.”
Lauren described her ordeal: “I was so poorly. I was there a month, I couldn't sleep. I was on my own. I was emotionally hysterical, and they were giving me sleeping tablets to make me sleep. I couldn't move. I was in agony. But then when I came home, it took a year for this left breast to heal. It still had two big holes in it, gaping.”
Life-Saving Treatment in the UK
When Lauren saw a doctor in Manchester, her doctor said her left breast was full of blood and her body was fighting the surgery like a cancer. The doctor in England said he was shocked she was still alive. The reality star turned to Pall Mall Medical for help last June and thanked the medical professionals there for “saving her life”. They removed all of her implants and cleaned her breasts.
“Dr Hassan saved my life. He literally took everything out, put it back in, and he said that it was like having a cancer inside me that my body was fighting all the time,” she added. “I’m very lucky and I’m on the other side.”
