A MUM’s bid to get rid of her eye bags for her 50th birthday backfired – when a “botched” op in Turkey left her with DROOPING eyelids like a basset hound.

Anita Brawders decided to treat herself for her major milestone last year and booked a surgery to have her lower eye bags removed in Turkey.

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The now 51-year-old paid €1,000 for the operation in which surgeons made a small incision under the eye and pulled the skin up.

However, within days of arriving back home, Anita noticed the area below her eyes was beginning to droop – exposing her lower eyelid.

The bar manager returned to Turkey for revision surgery but claims the lower lids dropped once again within a matter of days.

Devastated, the mum-of-three said she looked “disfigured” – and missed out on family events, as well as her 50th, due to her “botched” appearance.

The mum-of-three has since had another revision surgery in Canada that was successful – but caims she’s spent more than €10,000 on operations, flights, and time off work.

Now, the mum, who lives in Kilkenny, Ireland, wants to warn others against travelling to Turkey for surgery.

Anita said: “About three months after having my upper eyelid surgery in Lithuania, I started noticing my eyebags.

“I was coming up to 50 and just wanted to feel better about myself. It was a little 50th birthday present to myself.

“I started researching about six months beforehand and this clinic came up in Turkey. Everything looked good with the clinic.

“After coming back home, it just didn’t seem right. It wasn’t healing. I took the plasters off and it didn’t look right.

“I started texting my co-ordinator and they said it was just part of the healing process.

“Then about three weeks after my surgery, they decided to bring me back and reassured me they could fix what had happened.”

Anita opted to go under the knife again in Turkey to help fix her right eye but within four days of arriving home, the skin dropped.

‘Ruined my 50th’

Anita said: “It was devastating. I could see no end to it. I lived with this for a year.

“I missed out on a lot because of it. I didn’t have my planned party as I was supposed to.

“I had weddings that I missed out on. My family were shocked. I felt disfigured and I looked disfigured.

“I felt like I had been botched. It ruined my 50th.

“I had no self-esteem. I wouldn’t go anywhere but working at my own bar. I felt like I couldn’t go out.

“I hated looking at myself in the mirror. You can’t hide it, it’s the first thing you see. I didn’t want to live like that for the rest of my life.”

After a year of living with her ‘botched’ eye, Anita underwent revision surgery in Canada in August to help prevent the skin from dropping again.

I regret going to Turkey about my surgery. You’re signing things in Turkey, you have no idea what you’re signing. It’s dangerous.

Anita Brawders

Anita said: “It looks amazing compared to what it did look like. It changed my life.

“I’m in the healing process at the moment. I’m doing well, I’m not sure if I have to go back for another procedure. He saved my life.”

Anita claims the clinic offered her €2,400 in compensation after the operation – which she described as “an insult”.

Anita said: “It was an insult what they offered. That’s not going to cover half my costs.

“I spent money on flights, wages, my business, taking time out of work – it didn’t near cover my cost.

‘Feel so let down’

“The surgeon never took responsibility for his actions. They told me every procedure is a risk and you’ve signed your paperwork.

“I haven’t heard back from them since. I feel so let down. I don’t want them to do this to anyone else.

“I regret going to Turkey about my surgery.

“You’re signing things in Turkey, you have no idea what you’re signing. It’s dangerous.”

IF YOU notice a ‘stitch-like’ pain in the lower part of your tummy or changes to your bowel habits, you might put it down to IBS or eating something funny.

But these uncomfortable symptoms may be caused by a little-known gut condition that’s actually surprisingly common.

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Known as diverticular disease, it affects a whopping one in three people in their lifetime, according to Guts UK.

Despite being so common, few people could name the symptoms it causes or even know of its existence, the digestive health charity warned.

As a result, people with hidden diverticular disease may not get diagnosed and can continue to suffer agonising symptoms.

In honour of Diverticular Disease Awareness Week, Guts UK called on Brits experiencing telltale signs of the condition to get them checked out.

The often painful disease is caused by small pouches forming in the wall of the colon, known as diverticula.

Although the exact cause of diverticular disease is still unknown, it mostly affects people over the age of 40 and causes a range of digestive symptoms – such as bloating and stomach pains.

Common symptoms of ultra-common diverticular disease include:

1. Lower abdominal pain
2. Bloating
3. Change in bowel habits – such as diarrhoea or constipation
4. Mucus or blood in your poo

The pattern of symptoms tends to differ from one person to the next, but most will get crampy pains that come and go.

The pain is also commonly focused in the left side of the belly, where the diverticula most often form, though some people may get pain on the right side.

The pain and bloating can often start after eating food and may get better after going to the loo or passing gas, Guts UK said.

Meanwhile, many people with the condition can see changes to their poo habits, being struck with diarrhoea one day and constipation the next.

It’s important to get symptoms of diverticular disease checked out, as they’re similar to symptoms caused by more serious conditions such as bowel cancer.

Don’t assume that they are solely caused diverticular disease and get them checked out, the charity urged.

Sophie Miller, 23, from the north of Scotland, shared her experience with diverticular disease after being diagnosed with it in 2023.

She said: “I’d been having stomach pains, an intense stitch-like, uncomfortable pain around my bowels and I noticed blood when I went to the toilet.

“I was really embarrassed, so I didn’t say anything to anyone for months.

“Eventually the pain became too intense and I had to go to hospital and, after further tests, I was diagnosed with diverticular disease.

“I’ve since had help to manage my physical symptoms, as well as the anxiety I used to suffer from as a result of my flare-ups.

“I’d encourage anyone experiencing symptoms to see their doctor. If it is diverticular disease then they can help you manage it.”

Most people with the disease will never have any complications from it and can carry on with their lives as normal.

But some people may develop symptoms that can become difficult to live with.

And in some cases, those with diverticular disease can get complications like inflammation, high temperature, nausea, vomiting or serious bowel conditions, such as colitis or bowel perforation.

NHS England stats show that there were over 140,000 hospital admissions for diverticular disease in the last 12 months and this number is on the rise.

People can develop diverticulitis when one or more diverticula become inflamed or infected.

This can cause symptoms like worsening abdominal pain, a high temperature, nausea and being sick.

You should seek medical help immediately if you experience any of these.

Thought we still can’t be sure what exactly causes diverticular disease, it is more common with people with an unhealthy weight.

It’s also thought to be linked to lifestyle factors.

Although it’s more likely to develop after the age of 40, cases are now on the rise in younger people, the charity warned.

While there is no specific medical treatment for diverticular disease, patients can manage their symptoms and reduce the risk of them worsening by tweaking their diet to eat more fibre and losing weight if appropriate.

Doctors may also prescribe simple painkillers, medicines to reduce stomach cramps, constipation or diarrhoea, and antibiotics if necessary.

Suzanne Hudson, CEO at Guts UK, said: “It’s alarming to think that, during their lifetime, one in three people may be living with diverticular disease without knowing it.

“We want to empower individuals to understand their gut health better and to seek help if they experience any symptoms.

“Awareness is the first step towards improved quality of life for millions of people.”

You can use Guts UK’s Poo-torial tool to better understand your own toilet habits and check your poo for concerning changes.

A TEENAGER with cold and flu symptoms died just hours after being admitted to hospital.

Chloe Longster, 13, was suffering from a cough and pain in her lower ribs in November 2022.

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She was taken to Kettering General Hospital in Northamptonshire, where she passed away 18 and a half hours later.

Her parents say they witnessed “numerous failings” in Chloe’s care.

The schoolgirl’s cause of death was recorded as sepsis and multiple organ failure. She had no underlying health conditions.

An inquest into the year nine pupil’s death begins later today.

Mum Louise said her daughter, a keen dancer from Market Harborough, Leicestershire, was previously “full of energy” and “healthy”.

Neither she nor her husband Dave were informed of a sepsis screening or told Chloe had not been given antibiotics, despite her visible illness and distressing cough, they allege.

She was also reportedly never given an identification bracelet.

Louise, who works in children’s social care, claims she repeatedly raised concerns about Chloe’s worsening condition but her cries for help were dismissed.

Louise, 40, and Dave, 50, a mechanic, told the Daily Mail: “What happened to Chloe could happen to anyone.

“We were proactive, we asked questions, yet her death was not prevented.”

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited the hospital a month later and downgraded children’s services from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘inadequate’.

Inspectors cited concerns around staff numbers, dirt levels and the treatment of sepsis – a life-threatening reaction to an infection.

Charlotte Rudge, CQC deputy director of operations in the Midlands, said the watchdog found the trust had “ineffective systems in place to assess and treat people at risk of sepsis”.

She added: “Staff didn’t ensure people received a timely assessment to determine if they were at risk of sepsis.

“If they were at risk, they didn’t always receive treatment as quickly as they should have to help prevent them from coming to harm.”

Chloe brought so much joy, life, happiness and kindness to all those that she came into contact with

Dan ClearyPrincipal at Robert Smyth Academy

A separate review by the East Midlands Clinical Senate, commissioned in the same month Chloe died, found “training around quality improvement and learning from incidents in general appeared to be lacking”.

And last year, a BBC investigation highlighted more than 50 cases where families raised serious concerns about the care of their children.

This included one-year-old Jorgie Stanton-Watts, who died from dehydration and sepsis in 2016.

A coroner found her treatment amounted to neglect.

A follow-up inspection noted changes in the hospital’s children’s services. It is now rated as ‘requiring improvement’.

Julie Hogg, the chief nurse at the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire NHS Group, which oversees Kettering General Hospital and Northampton General Hospital, said: “We offer our condolences to Chloe’s family for their tragic loss.

“We are sorry for any failings in the care we provided and we await the coroner’s conclusion.

“We started our investigation processes in the hours after Chloe’s death, culminating in our national reporting in December 2022.

“We acknowledge this could have been done more quickly.”

A CQC spokesperson added: “The CQC is aware of the sad death of Chloe Longster, who was receiving care from Kettering General Hospital.

“Our condolences are with her family and friends at this sad time.

“We are liaising with the trust to establish the circumstances around Chloe’s death, to determine whether there is any regulatory action we may need to take.

“CQC’s priority, at all times, is the health and wellbeing of people using health and social care services, and all information we receive informs our monitoring of services and future inspections.

“If we’re not satisfied people are receiving safe care, we will not hesitate to take action in line with our regulatory powers.”

Dan Cleary, principal at Robert Smyth Academy where Chloe was a student, described her as “a vibrant, talented and compassionate individual”.

“She brought so much joy, life, happiness and kindness to all those that she came into contact with,” he added.

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