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Buckled into their plane seats, Angie and Mandy Kirtley looked like any other
holidaymaker's embarking on a relaxing trip abroad.
Only when they reached their Tunisian destination and booked into their
hotel, where some guests were wandering around in sunglasses and bandages, did
reality dawn that this wasn’t an ordinary package holiday, and the souvenir of
their stay would be their new bodies.
The mother and daughter, who live around the corner from each other in
Denholme, are among a growing band of Brits embarking on ‘cosmetic excursions’,
seeking ‘surgery in the sun’ at a fraction of the cost to have the same
procedures carried out in the UK.
Angie was embarrassed by the sight of her stomach following a previous gall
bladder operation and surgery to remove an endometriosis lump.
Her daughter had researched clinics abroad for a ‘tummy tuck’
(abdominoplasty) operation she’d promised herself as a reward for her weight
loss and, as a surprise, Angie decided to have the same procedure.
Mandy had asked her mum to accompany her on the trip to help with aftercare
and support. Little did she know that her mum had sold her Land Rover Discovery,
a coffee table, standard lamp and a tent on eBay to cover the £1,800 cost of the
operation she had secretly booked to coincide with Mandy’s!
“Because my husband took early retirement we don’t have any spare money so I
sold a lot of stuff on eBay,” says Angie.
Adds Mandy: “She didn’t tell me what she was getting the money together for.
She told everybody she was coming to look after me.”
Angie was the first to go down to theatre, followed by Mandy a few hours
later. They spent the following days of their ten-day trip recuperating side by
side “We were together and we supported each other. I kept saying, ‘is your
tummy looking like this?” laughs Angie.
They shared the same room after their operations and relaxed on sunbeds
beside the pool – wearing medical garments. Says Angie: “The hotel is well known
for people having cosmetic surgery so you get lots of extra pillows and they put
towels where you can reach. It is all catered for and you don’t stand out in the
hotel because everybody is in the same boat. It was a really
nice experience.”
Angie admits they were anxious before the operation. “You are entering the
unknown, but now I know I will be going back, without doubt.”
Angie hasn’t decided what she’s having done next, but she and Mandy have had
such a positive experience with Linda Briggs –
they are keen to tell others about it.
According
to Linda Briggs
website, a tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty surgery, involves a small
incision to flatten the abdomen by removing excess fat and skin and tightening
muscles of the abdomen wall. The length of the operation is about an hour and
the final results are said to be conspicuous in three to six months. The stomach
is gradually flattened, and any defect generally tones down depending on the
quality of the skin and the age of the patient.
For a small pot belly with excess skin, the surgeon carries out liposuction,
tightening the muscles of the abdomen and removing excess fat. This involves a
minor incision in line with the bikini line. The results are noticeable almost
immediately.
Angie says her operation has made her feel good about
herself. “I was always
embarrassed before and worried about things that were clingy, showing lumps and
bumps,” she says. “Years ago I was a model and I am always conscious about how I
look. For a long time I’ve been upset about the way I look but now I feel I am a
different person. I feel good about myself and I’m itching to buy some new
clothes!”
She advises people to do their research first. “You have to be careful and do
a lot of research, which is what Mandy did,” says Angie.
Mandy’s partner promised her a tummy tuck as a reward for her weight loss.
The mother-of-two battled with her weight most of her adult life.
She tried
various diets but wasn’t achieving the results she wanted until she discovered
the Cambridge Diet, a high-protein, low-carb diet based on nutritional food
packs.
Slimmers dine on soups, shakes and chocolate-coated bars to achieve their
weight loss. After they reach their target weight they have a month-long food
reintroduction and are encouraged to follow a healthy, balanced diet.
Mandy
was 18st 10lb when she started the diet. Within months she had trimmed
down to 12st.
She became a Cambridge counsellor at Christmas and is now passing on the
benefits to others, including her mum who started the diet in January, weighing
12st 9lb. Angie lost 33lb in 12 weeks, dropping from a size 16 to a 14. Since
the tummy tuck she is a size 12.
Mandy’s weight-loss succes
s was marred by her excess skin. Embarrassed by her
stomach, but conscious of cosmetic surgery horror stories she’d heard about, she
extensively researched the options. She looked at tummy tuck treatments in the
UK but found she could have the same procedure abroad for half the price.
Initially Mandy booked in for a tummy tuck, but ended up having a breast
uplift and liposuction in her back too. “I thought if my tummy is nice and flat
they wouldn’t go with it! I didn’t particularly want them any bigger, I wanted
them to sit in the right place,” explains Mandy.
She says the surgeon offered liposuction treatment to remove stubborn pockets
of fat, improving the shape of her back. An hour later a nurse placed what
looked like a glass milk churn in front of her, containing five litres of fat
removed from her back.
Mandy says having her mum there was a
support. “It was the best thing that
could have happened,” she says.
The total cost of her treatment was £3,600, including accommodation, and she
says it was worth every penny to get her body back in shape. Later this year the
mum and daughter are to appear on daytime TV show Tricia, talking about their
experiences. They also appeared in a photoshoot for a national newspaper’s
magazine and Mandy mentions a future photoshoot for the Cambridge Diet
magazine.
“Two years ago I was this fat, 20st person, who never went out and never did
anything because I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. It feels like I am
in a dream world,” says Mandy. “You can do anything you set you
r mind to. The
only regret I have is I didn’t do it sooner.”
Linda Briggs is the
biggest company sending patients abroad for surgery and have sent over 400
in the last year to Tunisia and the number is increasing. The most popular procedures
are breast augmentation; liposuction; tummy tucks; face lifts and rhinoplasty.
Linda Briggs offers gastric surgery and hip and knee replacements too.
Linda Briggs says there are several factors as to why British people seek
treatment there. One is cost; she says it is 50 per cent cheaper than in the UK.
Other factors, they add, are no waiting, a choice of countries offering
specialist clinics, clean clinics and care and recuperation in a warm
climate.
Linda Briggs says there are more family
bookings like Mandy and Angie’s and are becoming more popular. “Quite often we have
sisters or mothers and daughters travelling together and opting to have
procedures done at the same time. We welcome this, because they can give each
other support and are company for each other. They can have their surgery, then
enjoy a holiday in the sun.”
Mandy and Angies trip was organised by
www.Lindabriggs.co.uk
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