Jade underwent a second operation to try and correct the damage of the first, but it only made things worse
In 2018, Jade, who was then 25 years old and a mother from Essex, travelled to Belgium for breast cosmetic surgery. What was meant to be a confidence-boosting procedure turned into a deeply distressing ordeal – physically, emotionally, and financially. Her experience highlights the dangers of unregulated cosmetic surgery abroad and why better protections are urgently needed for UK patients.
At the time, Jade – who did not want to give her last name – was keen to restore the shape of her breasts after having a child. She was introduced to the Belgian clinic following a recommendation. Initially told she would need a breast uplift, the surgeon later convinced her that implants alone would suffice. Hoping to avoid visible scarring, Jade agreed, unaware of what would follow.
When she arrived in Belgium, warning signs were immediate. There was no airport pickup, no accommodation package, and no hospital transfer arranged. The Belgian clinic itself did not resemble a medical facility, and no staff were present when she turned up for surgery. Jade and her friend were left waiting in the street for someone to arrive. Even more concerning, no medical assessments were carried out—no bloodwork, no weight check, no documentation.
Jade was given teardrop-shaped implants, despite requesting a fuller, rounder look. “He gave me the opposite of what I asked for,” she later said.
After surgery, she woke alone in a dark, freezing room, without a bra or support garments, and with no nurse in sight. She struggled to dress herself and was discharged just hours later, without proper aftercare, pain relief and a fit-to-fly certificate.
She returned to the UK just three days after her operation in pain, and only narrowly avoided being barred from flying due to the absence of a fit-to-fly letter. Within months, the implants had dropped significantly, and she described her appearance as “worse than before.”
Deeply unhappy, she returned to Belgium for corrective surgery, paying a sum she could not afford. Her mother stepped in to help. The second surgery in Belgium was just as disastrous. Jade’s nipples were cut unevenly, and the uplift was poorly executed. The scarring was severe and asymmetrical, and the surgeon failed to use existing incision lines, leaving her with additional scarring and long-term physical and emotional trauma.
There was also an issue immediately after the operation. Because Jade had not been weighed, there was no accurate method of determining how much anaesthetic was suitable. As a result, the medics could not wake Jade up for over eight hours, and avoided calls from her concerned mother, who was trying to arrange a time to collect her.
It was not until 2023, during a separate trip to the medical tourism destination of Turkey for dental work, that Jade encountered someone who had had successful breast surgery through the company Longevita. Impressed by the brilliant results Longevita has provided, Jade contacted Longevita and underwent surgery in Istanbul with Professor Dr Fuat in November 2024.
Longevita provided complete pre-operative assessments, handled all logistics including transfers and accommodation, and operated in a high-quality hospital setting. Jade saw real Longevita patient results beforehand – something the Belgian clinic and surgeon had refused to show.
“The results with Longevita were life-changing,” Jade says. “The uplift and implants gave me the look I had hoped for all those years ago. For the first time, I feel confident in my body.”
Her story serves as a stark reminder of the risks associated with poorly regulated overseas clinics. She now backs Longevita’s campaign for UK government legislation that would protect patients from rogue providers. This includes restricting advertising to UK residents, mandating pre-treatment medical checks, and ensuring access to travel insurance that covers post-operative complications.
“If laws had been in place to protect people like me, I might have been spared years of pain, stress, and financial loss,” she says. “No one should have to go through what I did just to feel confident again.”
