Holiday abroad, but don’t get weight loss surgery - is the advice.
Medics are warning of catastrophic and life-threatening complications after surgery abroad.
It follows the trend of people who've had bariatric surgery in Turkey.
Helen Heneghan is a Consultant Bariatric Surgeon and Professor of Surgery at St Vincent's Hospital.
She says they've seen a four-fold increase in people whose overseas surgeries haven't gone well.
Gosh, https://t.co/elD21DQ2Cz estimates 400-500 patients each year need admission to Irish hospitals needing care for complicated weight loss surgery abroad at a cost of c. 5 million euros per annum. How many Irish patients are going abroad for this surgery?
— MaterSurgery (@Matersurgery) August 30, 2021
"After the first lockdown eased in the summer of 2020, patients started going abroad clearly in their droves," she said.
"In our experience, in St Vincent's University Hospital, (problems) increased fourfold."
"We don't know how many patients are going abroad, we just see the volume of complications coming back."
