A mother-of-two died from complications after having cosmetic surgery in Turkey, an inquest has concluded.
Sophie Hunt, 34, from Northampton, had multi-organ failure and died after she went into cardiac arrest three times on 9 March 2022, two days after having a Brazilian butt-lift (BBL) and a tummy tuck.
Her family told the inquest into her death at Northampton Coroner’s Court that they were concerned she had not been fit for the surgery, which took place at the private Nisantasi Hospital in Istanbul.
“If she hadn’t had the surgery, she would be alive still,” her sister Aimee Hunt told the BBC.
“They still haven’t stated what the complications were. It’s not really an answer. No one can really tell,” she added.
She added that the family “want more answers” over Ms Hunt’s death.
The inquest was told Ms Hunt was taken by ambulance to the Avrupa Safak Hospital in Istanbul, which has a specialist cardiac intensive care unit, where she later died.
In a statement read to the court, Sandra Hunt, Ms Hunt’s mother, said her daughter lost consciousness after the surgery and had swelling in her hands.
Sandra said paperwork from the hospital showed “some of her ECG (electrocardiogram) readings indicate an abnormal heartbeat”, which she has been told was not healthy.
She added: “We believe she was not fit for the surgery.”
She also expressed concerns there may have been a complication from the BBL procedure if too much fat was injected or removed from Ms Hunt’s body.
The coroner, Sophie Lomas, told the inquest that because Ms Hunt died in another country, she “does not have the jurisdiction to fully investigate what happened in that hospital”.
Ms Lomas added: “I have to reach the findings on the information I do have.”
“Sophie Hunt died due to complications of a surgical procedure carried out whilst abroad,” she concluded.
Lost consciousness
A report provided by Turkey’s Council of Forensic Medicine said: “The individual had no known medical illnesses.”
It added she had an abdominoplasty, also known as a tummy tuck, and liposuction on 7 March 2022, before she experienced “sudden loss of consciousness”.
The Turkish investigation found Ms Hunt died “as a result of abdominoplasty and liposuction procedures and the complications that developed thereafter”.
A post-mortem examination was carried out by Professor Kevin West when Ms Hunt’s body was repatriated to the UK.
The coroner said Prof West concluded she died due to complications of the surgery, but he said the “exact cause of cardiopulmonary arrest is unclear”.
Aimee Hunt said she had been worried about her sister travelling abroad due to the risks, as “it seemed like a big surgery to have”.
“Sophie was outgoing, funny, fun to be around, caring, kind and a brilliant mum,” she added.
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