Oldham mum who flew to Turkey for gastric sleeve operation dies after heart attack

A family have been left "heartbroken" after a "kind" and "bubbly" mum-of-three died alone in a Turkish hospital following a £2,000 gastric sleeve procedure.

Leanne Michelle Leary, 38, travelled to Istanbul on 30 June and had paid upfront for the operation on 1 July, which would see around 80 per cent of her stomach removed if successful.

The loving mum, from Hollinwood, Oldham, was said to be excited about the procedure and sent a final picture of herself in her hospital gown to her family Whatsapp chat.

But when nobody had heard from Leanne for a number of hours after the procedure was due to finish, they began to grow concerned. After finally managing to reach the hospital, they were informed she had suffered a heart attack - but that she was in a stable condition.

Her parents are understood to have flown out to Turkey the following day, but when they arrived at the hospital, they were informed she'd suffered another heart attack and had tragically passed away.

The family are still waiting for answers about how Leanne's condition deteriorated so quickly, and her body has since been flown back to the UK where an autopsy is expected to take place.

Rochdale Coroner's Court have confirmed that a file relating to Ms Leary's death has been passed to the coroner, and an inquest will be listed in due course.

Her devastated ex-husband, and father to two of her children, Steven Leary, said the family had been left in utter shock by Leanne's sudden death.

"Leanne was very bubbly and the life and soul of the party," he said.

"She was very kind and generous and always willing to help other people even when she might need it herself.

"My son is very angry. It was very unexpected and you don't expect when you pay thousands of pounds for a medical procedure that this is going to happen. Her daughters are heartbroken."

Steven said Leanne had struggled with her weight for a number of years, after having difficulty shifting the baby weight following their two children, Kyle, 15, and Caitlin, 14.

"Over the last few years she developed asthma which made it difficult for her to exercise," he said.

"She went to see doctors over here and was on the waiting list to have the procedure in this country but it was five years.

"She had a target which was her 40th birthday. She didn’t want to wait five years and she didn’t feel she was able to lose the weight on her own.

"A friend from school had the procedure in Turkey. She had amazing results and has lost nine stone. Leanne saw the result with her friend and thought she looked amazing.

"She probably took all the positives and didn’t read the bad press. She had 100 per cent confidence in it. She thought it was absolutely safe."

Steven said Leanne flew out to Turkey by herself on 30 June and underwent some tests the following day, before the procedure took place later that afternoon.

"The procedure was for a gastric sleeve which is supposed to remove 80 per cent of your stomach," he said.

"It was £2,000 for the whole package. I think the same procedure if you went privately in the UK was around £12,000."

Leanne's family said they knew approximately what time the procedure should be finished.

So, when they hadn't heard from her by 7pm that evening, they started to panic.

"The girl we knew who had it previously, her husband spoke Turkish so was able to ring the hospital and try and find out," Steven said.

"They told him the procedure had been successful but that she suffered a heart attack and was in a stable condition.

"Apparently the hospital said she hadn’t put anyone down for her next of kin so they weren’t able to get in touch with us.

"Her parents booked a flight out to Istanbul but when they arrived at the hospital they were told she’d had another heart attack and had passed away."

Steven said the family didn't want a post-mortem to be carried out in Turkey, and with the help of the embassy, managed to fly her home so it could be carried out in the UK.

A GoFundMe page has since been launched by a friend of Leanne, as all three of Leanne's children have now been placed in the care of Steven and his partner.

"Leanne's youngest daughter Keavey has been left with me so I have five children to care for in a four-bedroom house. We've set up a fundraiser so we can try and support the children through this," he said.

"We just want to make other people aware that even if they are struggling with their weight there is help available in this country. My opinion is that surgery should be a last resort.

"A lot of people go over there on their own and there is nothing in place if things go wrong it’s a completely different medical system.

"Nobody was able to speak to Leanne after she suffered the heart attack.

"The last we heard was a picture of her in the gown about to go down for surgery. She was so excited."