A mother-of-two who shelled out nearly £7,000 to have a tummy tuck in Turkey has admitted she made a ‘big mistake’ and now longs for the days when she was ‘fat’.

Chantelle Woolston, from Southampton, had hoped that a ‘mummy makeover’ would be the answer to her excess skin left behind after losing nearly half her body weight using a gastric sleeve.

Five years ago, Chantelle flew to Istanbul, Turkey, to have a gastric sleeve operation and was delighted with the results after it helped her drop from 15st and a size 18 to 8st 7lbs and a slender size eight. 

Although delighted with the weight she lost, Chantelle found that she was left with ‘excess skin’ and so after researching surgical options online, decided to head back to Turkey for another procedure that would trim it down.

There, the administrator worker came across a surgeon in Izmir, Turkey, who was offering her a back lift at an all inclusive price of £6,000.

A hopeful Chantelle then booked herself in and headed out to have the procedure done in February earlier this year.

However – when she came round from the anaesthetic post-op, she knew immediately that she had made a ‘big mistake’.

Two months on from her surgery and Chantelle has been left unable to stretch her skin for fear she will ‘rip in half’, and said she had gathered skin and her stomach is as ‘hard as a block’.

Chantelle Woolston, from Southampton, Hampshire, had hoped that a ‘mummy makeover’ would be the answer to her excess skin left behind after losing nearly half her body weight using a gastric sleeve (pictured before her weight-loss)

A mother-of-two who shelled out nearly £7,000 to have a tummy tuck in Turkey, has admitted she made a ‘big mistake’ and now longs for the days when she was ‘fat’ (pictured after weight-loss)

‘I’d built it up so much and I was so excited to go. I couldn’t wait to see the results,’ she said.

But she said she’s now extremely ‘regretful’ over her decision to select the particular clinic and wished ‘100 per cent’ that she had avoided it. 

‘I’m regretful of going with this clinic. I wish I’d researched more.

‘Now I have to tell people I’m devastated with how my body is,’ she said, even admitting she preferred the way she looked before the operations. 

‘I looked better with the fat.

‘I should have known by the deal that it was too good to be true.’

After having her gastric sleeve operation in September 2020, Chantelle said she was disappointed by what she saw in the mirror. 

The mother struggled with excess skin as a result of the weight-loss. She said: ‘I was looking in the mirror and seeing droopy boobs and rolls of fat.

Two months on from her surgery and Chantelle has been left unable to stretch her skin for fear she will ‘rip in half’, and said she had gathered skin and her stomach is as ‘hard as a block’ (pictured in April 2025)

The administrator worker came across a surgeon in Izmir, Turkey, who was offering her a back lift at an all inclusive price of £6,000

The mother struggled with excess skin as a result of the weight-loss. She said: ‘I was looking in the mirror and seeing droopy boobs and rolls of fat

‘I didn’t feel attractive. I wanted to look nice.’

Wanting to do something for herself, Chantelle decided to look into surgery abroad and was hopeful that she would be in luck after her success the first time around.

She chose to look into a different surgery as the medics from the initial clinic had left. 

‘I trawled the internet for places to go,’ she said. ‘I didn’t see any negative on this Facebook group.

‘It was just so positive and they sent me pictures of stunning women. I thought ‘bloody hell, can I have that body?”

It was only after she’d paid her deposit that Chantelle started to notice some negative comments but she still flew out in February with her husband, Marc, 50, a maintenance worker.

But Chantelle felt uneasy and said she felt ‘rushed’ to sign the paperwork to get her into surgery.

She said: ‘It was a case of you need to hurry up. It’s like a conveyer belt.

‘When I came round I was in a mess – I was freezing cold. I thought ‘I’ve made a big mistake.

It was only after she’d paid her deposit Chantelle started to notice some negative comments but she still flew out in February with her husband, Marc, 50, a maintenance worker

Chantelle said she has been in touch with the clinic and they have told her to ‘trust the process’ and to ‘exercise’

She now wants to warn other women before they make the same mistake she did and warned others considering surgery to always ‘trust your gut’

Chantelle stayed in Turkey for a week before flying home. She was initially excited to see the results but two months out she feels unhappy with her healing journey.

Chantelle said: ‘I’m now able to lie on my side in bed and if I have move in bed I feel like I’m going to rip in half.

‘I can’t open my garage to park my car – I can’t stretch. I have skin that looks like dog ears above my pubic bone. It’s like a zip.

‘I have flaps of skin and three rolls of skin sewn up – it’s just been sewn up and gathered.

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‘My stomach is hard as a block. My body has completely healed but my breasts are all crusty. I feel hollow in places.’

Chantelle said she has been in touch with the clinic and they have told her to ‘trust the process’ and to ‘exercise’.

She said: ‘My scarring is there – it’s like a roadmap. I asked for a flat stomach not for three rolls.’

Chantelle was told healing can take from three to six months but she doesn’t feel her results are going to change.

She now wants to warn other women before they make the same mistake she did.

She warned others considering surgery to always ‘trust your gut’. 

The clinic said: ‘While we aim to give patients ample time to read and sign these documents, the pre-operative schedule-including tests and consultations-may create a sense of urgency for some individuals on the day of surgery.

‘Post-operative recovery varies per patient, and swelling, tightness, and temporary asymmetry are common in the initial stages. We advise patients that full healing can take months, and we provide detailed aftercare instructions.

‘Terms like ‘dog ears’ or ‘gathered skin’ often describe normal transient swelling or suturing techniques that improve over time. However, we always encourage patients to voice concerns during follow-ups so we can assess and reassure or intervene if medically indicated.

‘Our team remains available post-operatively to guide patients through their recovery. While phrases like ‘trust the process’ may stem from managing early-stage expectations, we prioritise addressing concerns with clinical evaluations when needed.

‘We regret that this patient feels dissatisfied and invite her to contact us directly so we can review her case in detail and provide personalised support.’