A British builder desperate to lose weight died just hours after undergoing cut-price cosmetic surgery in Turkey.

Joe Thornley, 25, spent £3,000 to have a gastric sleeve fitted in the hope of slimming down his 22st frame by restricting the amount of food he could eat.

It would have cost him between £8,000 and £10,000 to have itdone in the UK.

In what tragically proved to be his last text message, he told his parents after the two-hour procedure to say he was in ‘a lot of pain’.

His mum Julie, from South Normanton, Derbyshire, told The Daily Star Sunday she didn’t hear from Joe for two days before being given the devastating news he had died.

Joe had booked the operation at the Medicana Bahcelievler hospital in Istanbul weeks in advance but hadn’t told his parents about it until the day before.

Julie said: ‘I told him I couldn’t stop him but that he didn’t need it. It was meant to be go in on the Monday and be back at home on the Friday.’

She described how her and husband Michael, 57, assumed theirson was recovering when they didn’t hear from him for two days after his textmessage.

But police turned up at her work to break the dreadful news.

The mum-of-two said: ‘He was a 25-year-old with his wholelife ahead of him.

‘Now I can’t stop thinking of all the other young people who want a butt lift or want something doing to their face. I hope ­anyone considering this reads our story and doesn’t take it lightly.’

She warned others considering similar cosmetic operations abroad to think twice, adding: ‘It’s just not worth it. I don’t want another family to go through what we’ve been through.’

Turkish officials ruled Joe died of ‘natural causes’, but apost-mortem back in the UK concluded the cause of death was internal bleedingfollowing the surgery.

During a sleeve gastrectomy, surgeons remove roughly 80 percent of the patient’s stomach and leave a thin tube in order to restrict foodintake.

It also takes out some of the stomach cells which produce a hormone that controls appetite, meaning the patient won’t feel as hungry afterwards.

The hospital has been contacted for comment.

Got a story for Metro.co.uk?

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected]. For more stories like this, check our news page.

Source: Read Full Article