Horror injury inflicted on a woman when a flesh-eating insect ate huge pieces of stomach after a tummy tuck

A woman shared shocking photos showing how a flesh-eating insect ate large chunks of her stomach after having a tummy tuck.

Laura Franks underwent the procedure to get rid of the sagging skin folds she had left after losing seven stones after gastric bypass surgery.

And the 36-year-old woman, who weighed 22 pounds, paid £ 3,801 for the nickname and tip, hoping it would give her confidence – but on the contrary, it made her want to die.

The event planner from Atlanta, Georgia, also underwent liposuction and Brazilian foot lift in a Cali clinic in Colombia, South America, in February of this year.

But instead of having a dream body, she caught a flesh-eating insect that ravaged her belly.

"I was convinced that I would go home in a body bag," Laura said.

She talks about her nightmare experience when the British Association of Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) issued a stern warning about Brazilian buttocks uprisings, following the deaths of two women who had undergone the procedure.

Laura, whose boyfriend is a rapper and actor who calls Solo Styles, has studied everything thoroughly before continuing.

She continued, "I've watched places around the world, including here in the United States.

"I did not want to go anywhere in particular, I just wanted what was best for me, but I finally found a beautiful place in Colombia.

"It's a decision I regret now every day.

"But the pictures of the other patients were fantastic and people seemed very happy with what they had done.

"I contacted the clinic and I immediately received an answer. While surgeons from different clinics had ignored me, it seemed like a very personal and professional answer.

Laura was an active girl, but she had started gaining weight at the university – leaving her desperately aware of her height when she hit a stone of 22, wearing a size of 24.

Discovering that she was eligible for a gastric bypass, where surgical staples are used to create a small pocket at the top of the stomach, which then connects directly to the small intestine, she happily started under the knife.

To her delight, her weight dropped – but her skin was sagging, more unsightly than the fat she had replaced.

She said, "I had a lot of excess skin left.

"I worked very hard to try to tone, but, while the underlying muscles became stronger, the skin remained in place.

"It was hard to lose all that weight and having to deal with another problem of body confidence.

"I looked like an empty bag, and whatever I tried, the skin would not tone up."

Finally, Laura decided that the surgery was her only solution and spent more than a year looking for solutions, reviewing reviews and testimonials online and following the journey of other patients via Instagram.

And in February of this year, although her boyfriend warned her, she went to Colombia.

She added, "My boyfriend told me that I was beautiful like me and that I did not need to change anything, but I went from the front as I had planned before meeting him.

"Now, I wish every day that I listened."

After blood tests at a nearby hospital, Laura arrived at the clinic on February 28 this year, describing her as a "handsome, welcoming building".

Everything seemed to be in the surgical socks and dress, but when she was taken to the theater, doubts began to emerge.

She said, "I looked around and things did not seem to be going well. There were plastic patio chairs in the room and personal items, such as an employee's bags.

"Panic set up when I felt the sting of a needle during the administration of the anesthetic.

"People are telling me now," Why did you go ahead? Why did not you say anything? They do not understand the speed with which it all happened.

"I had literally a few minutes to understand everything and I was cold before I could tell them to hold on."

"In reality, I remember being woken up during the operation and having felt an intense pain. I tried to scream, but I was so calm that I did not know if I was making noise. It was horrible. "

After arriving at, Laura was taken to a recovery room and, on the next two days, she felt surprisingly well.

However, five days after her surgery, her bandages were removed for the first time, revealing a large red spot on her belly.

Initially, she said that she had been told that it was just her body that needed to be oxygenated. She was then sent for hourly sessions in a hyperbaric chamber, where the patients' natural healing processes are enhanced by inhaling 100% oxygen.

Over the next few days, she felt worse and her skin around the area of ​​her tummy tuck began to swell and die.

As a result of a debriding operation – a procedure to remove dead and damaged tissue – it has also been equipped with a wound aspirator to seal the area and help it heal faster. .

"I literally had the impression of dying. When I did not feel better, I was transferred to another hospital where they immediately put me in isolation, "she recalls.

"I was screaming in pain. An infectious disease expert arrived and tried to calm me down by telling me about his country and his family in the United States.

"He also told me that I had a very serious infection and that I needed a surgery. I could not see a way to improve myself, though. "

Three surgeries aimed at cutting off his dying flesh and, hopefully, curbing the infection, on March 29, more than a month after his arrival in Colombia, were allowed to return to the house on the condition of going directly to another hospital.

Wanting to get closer to her family, she flew to Denver, Colorado, where her relatives had organized a team of surgeons to be ready for her arrival.

After examining her wound, the doctors confirmed that she had contracted three types of harmful bacteria, two of which had never been seen in the United States.

She explained, "Doctors think the bacteria comes from contaminated equipment. Of course, I do not know for sure, but my opinion is that it comes from the clinic, because I already had symptoms before being transferred elsewhere. "

Because the bacteria was so resistant to drugs, it seemed at first that nothing could save her.

Then, at the eleventh hour, a specialized drug was airlifted by the Center for Disease Control.

"I called it my unicorn juice," she said.

"It worked out well, and my insurer took care of a lot of the costs, but since it was so expensive and I needed a high dose, I ended up with considerable medical bills of about $ 10,000 (£ 7,571) myself. "

Now, Laura, who has since had a skin transplant using the flesh of her thighs to flatten it in her belly, has set up a GoFundMe page and hopes that nice strangers will help her pay her bills.

She also takes the floor to warn others not to take online comments as such, because she thinks that companies often delete or edit negative comments.

"I have never seen anything worrisome when I did extensive research. I know now that it was not an enlightened decision. I just saw what someone else wanted me to see, "she said.

"But I do not even want to tell people to do extensive research. I want them to realize that surgery is not worth it. You must learn to love yourself. I would like to have.

"I live now with daily pain, but I'm also happy to be alive and want what I've lived to help others.

"When that happened to me, I did not even tell my family what I was doing. They thought I was just on vacation, so when everything went wrong, I had to make a very difficult call home by telling my parents that it was perhaps the last time I spoke to them.

"I'm incredibly grateful to be alive and I really want to encourage others to love each other as they are. I learned the hard way that the operation will not change the way you, or anyone else, looks at you. It's just not worth it. "

Dr. Renato Saltz, President of the International Society of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery (ISAPS), said: "The risks of traveling abroad for plastic surgery can be considerable.

"In deciding to have a cosmetic surgery abroad, possibly with a surgeon that you have never met, it is extremely important that you do your homework on who they are, their skills and experience in performing this specific cosmetic operation, as well as the medical facility where the procedure is practiced. "

Laura's fundraising page is available here.