A woman has shared a harrowing account of how a routine weight loss operation nearly killed her, leaving her stomach displaced behind her heart and ultimately leading to her living as one of the few people on Earth with no stomach at all.
A Decision Driven by Pressure
Mayra del Villar, 49, from Venezuela, explained that 18 years ago she felt compelled to lose weight to conform to society's beauty standards. Struggling with Class III obesity, asthma, and other health issues, she was deeply affected by cruel comments about her size.
"I constantly heard comments like, 'You're very pretty, but you should lose weight,'" Del Villar told What's The Jam. "At that time, I lacked self-love and the emotional tools to understand that my worth didn't depend on my weight."
She accepted an offer for surgery from a client's boss, a supposed surgeon, admitting she wanted to please others more than herself. This decision marked the beginning of an 18-year medical nightmare.
A Surgical Catastrophe and a Miracle
The initial gastric bypass procedure was allegedly botched. Del Villar claims surgeons injured her pancreas and diaphragm, removed three metres of intestine and her spleen.
Her condition necessitated a second operation just 25 days later. During this surgery, she suffered two cardiorespiratory arrests and was left in intensive care with organ failure. Her family, believing the end was near, chose her burial clothes and called a priest to administer last rites.
"I was on the brink of death," she said. However, in what she describes as a miracle, her lungs began to function independently again one night, allowing doctors to take her off a ventilator.
Life Without a Stomach
Del Villar spent three months hospitalised, a year bedridden and six months in a wheelchair. For the next 18 years, she endured constant pain, vomiting, and diarrhoea.
Seeking answers, she moved her family from Venezuela to the United States. After several rejections, a doctor agreed to operate and made a shocking discovery: her stomach was situated behind her heart, lodged between the myocardium and the lungs.
Three months later, further surgery revealed her stomach was irreparably damaged and had to be removed entirely. "Waking up and discovering I had no stomach was one of the hardest moments of my life," she shared.
Now living in Miami and working as a content creator and manicurist, her health battle continues. She deals with daily dizziness, hair loss, low blood pressure, and severe dietary restrictions. "Every day is different," she said, "But I'm still alive, and that in itself is a miracle."
A Stark Warning to Others
With over 630,000 followers online, Del Villar uses her platform to warn others considering cosmetic or weight loss surgery. Her message is clear and powerful.
"To those considering surgery, I would say that the scalpel doesn't heal traumas or fill voids," she advised. "The scalpel transforms the physical, but not the emotional."
She urges anyone proceeding with surgery to see a certified doctor, research thoroughly, and ensure they are doing it for health reasons—not social pressure. "True change," she concludes, "begins with self-love, not surgery."
