A father whose daughter died after travelling to Turkey for weight-loss surgery has urged others to reconsider. Shannon Meenan Browse, 32, from Londonderry, died in August after undergoing a gastric sleeve operation 18 months earlier. Her father, Shane Meenan, said she became ill almost immediately after the procedure.
Shannon, a mother of four, could not keep food down following the operation, leading to severe malnutrition. Her teeth rotted from constant vomiting. She died at Altnagelvin Hospital, with the cause given as “malnutrition due to gastric sleeve”.
Prof David Kerrigan, a leading UK bariatric surgeon, warned that patients travelling abroad for such surgery take a “massive risk”. In the UK, patients undergo rigorous preparation, including psychological assessment and proper aftercare. A BBC investigation in March found seven British patients died after weight-loss surgery in Turkey, with others returning with serious health issues.
Dr Nicola Herron, a GP in Derry, described the case as “beyond heart-breaking” and said doctors in Northern Ireland are increasingly concerned about patients going abroad. “The professionals here are sometimes at a loss as to how to look after people who have come back after this major surgery,” she said.
Mr Meenan recalled that his daughter could only eat broth from ready-made noodles without vomiting. “We were told the malnutrition affected her liver and killed her liver… then her kidneys stopped working,” he said. He urged others to think beyond “just paying the money and booking in and getting it”.
