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A woman who lost nearly 100 pounds and had a tummy tuck to sucked up the resulting folds of saggy skin when she was dead dicing with a flesh-eating bug ate huge chunks of her stomach.
Weighing over 300 pounds at Laura Franks, 36, had had a gastric bypass surgery in 2013, but looked like an empty bag.
Franks, of Atlanta, Ga., Paid $ 5,000 for a tummy tuck, liposuction and Brazilian bum lift at a clinic in Cali, Colombia, in February this year.
But, instead of getting a dream body, she caught a flesh-eating bug, which ravaged her stomach, saying, "I was convinced I was going home in a body bag."
Franks is speaking on the nightmare experience just as the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) issued a stark warning about Brazilian bum lifts, following the death of two women who had had the procedure.
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But, Franks is a rapper and actor who goes by the name of Solo Styles, researched everything thoroughly before proceeding.
"I looked at places all over the world, including here in the USA," she said.
"I was not set going anywhere, in particular, I just wanted to be better," "Franks said." That's a decision I now regret every single day.
"But the pictures of other patients looked fantastic and people really happy with what they had done," she said. "I contacted the clinic and got a reply right away. a really personal, professional reply. "
Franks was an active youngster but had started gaining weight at university – leaving her desperately self-conscious about her size when she hit 300 pounds.
Discovering how to be eligible for a gastric bypass, where surgical procedures are used to create a small pouch at the top of the stomach, which then connects directly to the small intestine, she happily went under the knife.
To her delight, her weight plummeted – but she was left with saggy skin more unsightly than the fat it had replaced.
"I was left with an awful lot of excess skin," she said. "I worked really hard to try and tone up my goal, while the muscles were getting stronger, the skin stayed put. , then be dealing with another body confidence issue. "
"I looked like an empty bag, and whatever I tried, the skin would not tone up," she said.
Eventually, Sparks has been thoroughly researched where to go, and reviews the other patients via Instagram.
And in February this year, she headed to Colombia.
"My boyfriend told me I was beautiful the way I was, and that I did not need to change anything, but I was going ahead anyway I had this planned from before I had met him," Sparks said. "Now I wish every day that I had listened. "
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Following blood tests at a nearby hospital, Sparks arrived at the clinic on February 28 this year, describing it as a "beautiful, welcoming building."
Changing into her surgical stockings and gown, everything seemed fine, but when it was taken to the operating room, doubts began to creep in.
"I looked around and things just did not seem right. There was a lot of room in the room and personal items, like the staff's bags, "she said." Panic was setting in when I felt the prick of a needle, as the anesthetic was. why do not you say something? They do not understand how quickly this all happened. "
"I used to know how to hold on," said Sparks. "I actually remember waking during surgery and feeling intense pain. seduced that I've got no idea if it was any noise.
After coming to, Sparks was taken to a recovery and, for the next couple of days, she felt surprisingly well.
However, her days have been removed for the first time, revealing a wide red blotch across her stomach.
Initially, it has been told that it is necessary to oxygenate, and it is necessary to have a hyperbaric chamber – where patients' natural healing processes are enhanced as they inhale 100 percent oxygen.
Over the coming days, though, she felt worse and worse, and her skin around the area of her tummy tuck began to blister and die.
Following debridement surgery – a procedure to remove the dead and damaged tissue – it was also possible to heal quicker.
"I was so dying," she said. "When I got no better, I was moved to another hospital, where they immediately put me in isolation. I was screaming out in bread. An infectious disease expert came into contact with me in the United States. "
"He also told me that," she said. "I could not see it better, though."
Three tips of surgery to cut away her dying flesh and, hopefully, stem the infection, later, on March 29 – more than a month after arriving in Colombia – Sparks was allowed to fly to the hospital.
Wanted to be near her family, she flew to Denver, Colo., Where her loved ones had organized a team of surgeons to be ready for her arrival.
After testing her wound, medications confirmed she had contracted three different types of dangerous bacteria – two of which had not been seen in the U.S.
"Doctors believe the bacteria," she said. "Of course, I do not know for sure, but my opinion is that it's coming from the clinic.
As the bacteria was so drug-resistant, it seemed at first as if nothing would be able to save her.
Then, at the 11th hour, the drug specialist was flown in by the Centers for Disease Control.
"I called it my unicorn juice," she said. "It has been so helpful, and my insurer picked up a lot of costs, but it was so expensive and I needed a large dose, I have been left with considerable medical bills of around $ 10,000 myself."
Now Sparks, who has had a skin to help you get rid of your stomach, has set up a GoFundMe page, and hopes you will be able to help you.
She is also speaking to gospel, as she believes companies often delete or edit negative ones.
"I never saw anything worrying when I did extensive research. I was just seeing what somebody else wanted me to see, "she said. "But I do not want to tell people to do thorough research. I want to realize that surgery is not worth it. You must learn to love yourself. I wish I had.
"I now live with daily bread, but I'm happy to be alive, and I want to be there," "Sparks said." They thought I was just on a vacation, so when everything went wrong I had to make a very difficult call home, telling my parents it can be the last time I ever spoke to them. "
"I am incredibly thankful to be alive, and I really want to encourage others to love themselves," she said. "I've learned the way you do, or anybody else, looks at you. It's just not worth it. "
Dr. Renato Saltz, President of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), said, "One of the most important things a prospective patient can do is educate themselves about the many aspects involved – the actual plastic surgeon or cosmetic surgeon who would be performing the procedure, the actual medical facility that the procedure will be performed.
"In deciding to have a cosmetic surgery, it is extremely important that you have a better understanding of how to do it. the medical facility where the procedure is being performed, "Saltz said." For anyone considering having plastic surgery, we recommend that you start your journey by visiting www.isaps.org to find out more directory to find an ISAPS plastic surgeon. "
"All ISAPS members have undergone a rigorous application in their country," Saltz said.
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