Real Housewives of Cheshire star Lauren Simon has revealed she was left fighting for her life after undergoing a botched breast augmentation in Turkey. The 54-year-old television personality appeared on Good Morning Britain to share her harrowing experience, which included 'gaping holes' in her breast and a blackened left breast that required emergency surgery in the UK.
The Decision to Travel to Turkey
Lauren explained that a friend, who co-owns a clinic in Turkey, invited her to undergo a free breast augmentation surgery as part of a collaboration. Despite the offer, Lauren admitted she did not meet the doctors until the morning of the procedure. 'I knew who the doctors were because they're all over social media. I'd seen a lot of their work because they've got a lot of pictures of them, but I never met them until the morning of the surgery,' she said on Good Morning Britain.
Details of the Botched Procedure
GMB host Susanna Reid warned viewers about the graphic images of Lauren's post-surgery condition. Reid described the ordeal: 'They are stomach churning. They happened to your body. 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.'
Reid also noted that the surgery was free due to the collaboration with the clinic. She added that when Lauren visited a doctor in Manchester, the doctor said her left breast was 'full of blood' and that her body was 'fighting surgery like a cancer.' The UK surgeon, upon opening her up, said he was 'shocked you were still alive.'
Emotional and Physical Toll
Lauren described the emotional and physical suffering she endured. '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. So that, with not sleeping, was making me also really ill. My left, 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 Surgery in the UK
Lauren eventually sought help at Pall Mall Medical in Manchester, where she credited surgeon Dr. Hassan with saving her life. 'I was so lucky that the surgeon in the UK took me on. Last June, so a year ago, I went to Palm Cosmetic Surgery, and they took all of the implants out, cleaned both of my breasts. I mean, I have to say, I'm going to say his name, 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.'
