The grieving parents of a young Nigerian woman have been awarded £858,000 (approximately N1.5 billion) in damages by a UK High Court after their daughter died from complications following budget weight-loss surgery in Turkey.
Khelisyah Ashamu, a 26-year-old mother-of-one and IT professional from Romford, UK, travelled to Izmir, Turkey, in February 2019 for a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedure. She booked the operation through “Get Slim in Turkey,” a medical tourism agency operated by British expat Tracey Ozdemir. The £3,300 package included the surgery, accommodation, airport transfers, and related arrangements.
Ashamu sought the procedure due to concerns about her weight and the appearance of her stomach following a caesarean section. The initial surgery took place on February 1, 2019. However, she soon experienced severe pain and underwent exploratory follow-up surgery on February 3.
Her condition worsened rapidly. She was transferred to intensive care, where the court later found there was inadequate post-operative monitoring and airway care. She suffered a cardiac arrest, fell into a coma, and was declared brain dead. Life support was withdrawn on February 9, 2019, without her father’s knowledge or presence—he arrived at the hospital only to learn she had already been placed in the morgue.
A coroner ruled that her death resulted from gastrointestinal ischaemia (lack of blood flow to the intestines) caused by complications from the surgery.
Ashamu’s parents, Toyin and Oyebanji Ashamu, filed a High Court claim against Tracey Ozdemir (trading as Get Slim in Turkey) on behalf of their daughter’s estate. Ozdemir denied liability, but following a trial, senior judge Mrs Justice Obi ruled in the family’s favor.
The judge determined that Get Slim in Turkey acted as the “organiser” of a package travel contract under relevant regulations. The agency actively marketed and sold packages that included surgery, hospital care, and other services—referring to “our surgeon”—making it legally responsible for the proper performance of the procedure and aftercare.
Expert evidence highlighted deficiencies in post-operative care as a key factor in the tragedy. Since the damages amount was not contested, the court awarded the full £858,000 sought. A separate claim against the Turkish medical staff was not pursued.
Addressing the parents after delivering the judgment, Mrs Justice Obi said:
“I recognise how difficult these proceedings must have been for you and I offer my sincere condolences for the loss of your daughter. Of course, nothing this court can do can lessen that loss for you and your family, but I hope the conclusion of these proceedings will bring some measure of consolation.”
The case highlights risks associated with medical tourism, particularly cut-price procedures abroad.
